The purpose is to learn php. How he can know what php gives to you when he don't know it. Only when he learn and read some about php, he'll will know functios and possibilities whcih php gives, and then he would think of any purpose.
People live on Earth for let's say 35,000 years. Universe have million years. Also Earth won't exist long because sun is getting bigger and will heat Earth so much. So the chance that 'aliens' are somewhere are nothing like human age to universe age is nothing. I think that there might be or will be life on other planets in future, but the chances are not big.