In this new article from InternetNews.com, there's a look back at where PHP has come from as well as a look forward to the new year and what we can expect.

PHP has long been a favorite dynamic programming language for Web developers. After 10 years of growth, 2006 looks to be a banner year for the open source language as its collaboration framework, partner ecosystem and the language itself are expected to grow and gain new users.

Look for a confluence of three distinct branches of the PHP language, with versions 4, 5 and 6 all likely to be out in the market in 2006. It will also be a year in which PHP will continue to challenge .NET and Java as the online language of choice for developers.

They also look at a brief history of PHP, what PHP6 has in store for the community, the confusion that the "three versions" (PHP 4.x, 5, and the upcoming 6) can cause. They wrap it all up with a positive note about PHP and its future from Andi Gutmans of Zend.