PHP is a whole lot more than a server side language. Scripting has also been made easier with php-cli, we could develop stand-alone (desktop) apps using php, and a whole lot more. PHP is beyond what you could imagine. All thank to its open source community.
#TeamOpenSource

Although shell scripts are still valuable in scripting
automated solutions, you can’t load modules for advanced features, such as database connectivity. In fact, you can easily combine PHP and shell scripts into a formidable application that’s virtually unbreakable and easy to maintain.
PHP and shell scripts into a formidable application that’s virtually unbreakable
and easy to maintain.
You might believe that PHP scripting is a Linux-only
language, but PHP supports a variety of operating
systems, including Windows. Windows has a few
unsupported modules, but the list of supported ones is
very long. One remedy for an all-Windows environment
would be to install a small Linux virtual machine (VM)
onto a Windows server.

Reference:
www.admin-magazine.com/Articles/Automation-Scripting-with-PHP

www.acquia.com/blog/power-php-swiss-army-knife-digital