Care to disagree. E.g.: array_map (callable $callback, array $array1 [, array $... ] ) and array_filter (array $array [, callable $callback [, int $flag = 0 ]]) Both are operations over an array, but the arguments aren't in the same order. I understand the why, but it is not consistent and (in my opinion) wrong, from a point of view of writing a language. This also makes it more difficult for someone to learn the language, as it was said. Let me add that Rasmus admitted he didn't know how to write programming languages, when he wrote PHP. He just wanted something that was easy and fast for web designers to learn.

That said, PHP is my go-to language when I what to get up something fast and with not much server side logic.

What myth? PHP has inconsistency throughout. It's one of the most commonly cited complaints about the standard library, for example, which lacks a consistent naming scheme, consistent parameter order, consistent error-handling behaviour, and so on.

Why bother? You can just put your Python script into a CGI-enabled server like you do with PHP:

    #!/usr/local/bin/python2
    import cgi
    print "Content-type: text/html\n\n"
    query = cgi.FieldStorage()
    if "name" in query:
        print "Hello, %s!" % query["name"].value
    else:
        print """
        <p>Insert your name and hit Go! to get greeted!</p>
        <form action='/cgi-bin/hello-py.cgi' method='get'>
          <input type='text' name='name'/>
          <button type='submit'>Go!</button>
        </form>"""

chmod 750 and go.

Yes, this is certainly an advantage. Getting to hello world is easier.

Though that might be mitigated somewhat by things like Heroku and App Engine. My first Python code was with the latter, and I didn't even realise I was using it.

Actually, I'd say that these days that crown has been taken from PHP by Node.JS. It may not be as popular but it is definitely easier to work with than PHP, if only becausee it's 1. JavaScript and 2. Doesn't have most (all?) of the warts of PHP.

Of course it introduces a few of its own but on the whole I'd say Node is definitely easier to work with for a newcomer.