Hardware and Software Used by PHP Developers

Some time ago, in one of the PHP-related groups, I asked members to fill out a survey about the hardware and software they use. Below I present an analysis of several questions from that survey. All survey data is available at the end of the article.

57 people completed the survey. The opening section contains demographic information. 41% of respondents work at software houses.

Hardware

According to the survey, the typical PHP developer’s work computer is a Dell or Apple laptop provided by their employer, with a screen size up to 14.9 inches. The laptop has 32 GB of RAM and a 512 GB drive.

Key hardware findings from the survey, in chart form:

Software

A PHP developer works using the Linux operating system, most commonly Ubuntu, writes code in PHPStorm, and uses Docker for the local environment.

Charts for the software questions:

Full Results

In the document you can see the full results. If you’d like, you can add to the data by filling out the survey. The spreadsheet will update automatically.

In the results document, it’s worth looking at the answers to the questions “What other hardware do you use that improves your work as a PHP developer?” and “What other software do you use that improves your work as a PHP developer?” There are some suggestions that can improve a developer’s workflow.

Thank you to everyone from the PHPErs: After hours group for completing the survey.