PHP seems to be missing from this release.
macOS 12.0 -where oh where is PHP
The original post had the php code in it. It was part of the sentence, "which is nothing more than..." Right there is where I showed the contents of the page I load to test if php is working.
It would be good if Apple allows custom installation that makes php executable into /usr/bin. Right now, the situation is breaking some tools, such as phpcs in PHPStorm. I tried to solve it by installing PHP with Homebrew, and it doesn't solve the problem.
What upsets me about the move to big sur and then monterey is that the upgrade program should check that i have apache, php and mysql and if it finds that there it should stop and say: hey man, this upgrade is going to create problems for you ... do you want to think about it before you proceed?
So what I'm going top do now is upload the (daily) backedup MySQL database to a hosting service that will also support PHP. Then I'll find the time to work out how to migrate my admin systems to Monterey - and then buy a new Macbook Pro - after I know how to migrate to that environment.
PHP is not insecure if you use a supported version: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php
Apple is not the only company to stop bundling it and give the responsibility to the end user. Claris also used to ship PHP with FileMaker Server and removed that. So Claris had to provide instructions to get your own php set up for custom web publishing in the Claris Engineering blog: https://support.claris.com/s/answerview?anum=000035470&language=en_US
These instructions were helpful, as were Tim Perfitt's instructions at Two Canoes for installing PHP on Monterey as he did for his MDS project: https://twocanoes.com/knowledge-base/installing-php-7-on-macos-12-monterey/
Of course, in Monterey you have to code-sign the PHP you install. But it is not so hard if you follow the method from Rich Trouton at "Der Flounder": https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/notarizing-automator-applications/
Using all this, I have had great success installing my own PHP on both my macOS FileMaker Server for custom PHP web publishing and my macOS Web Server (for a web site, munki server and munkireport server and various remote proxies. (both Macs on Monterey).
I presented on this topic along with my methodology including a "recipe" at the MacDevOps YVR conference 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzxxLHojXhk&t=1s
In short, PHP on the Mac still lives - but its up to the end user to maintain it.
This is simply frustrating. After wasting 3 hours of time I came to know that there is no php installed. WTF! Apple. Why wouldn't you include php by default in a linux clone? Here is another dumb thing. I install and fix php in previous version only to be wiped out by next freaking update. ******* waste of my and thousands of other users. Apple sucks. Get it installed in next upgrade and leave us in peace.