I concur and add that PHP has actually evolved quite nicely, and it's horribleness is merely an outdated meme. Java is still playing catchup to the stuff PHP has added in recent years.

Just because it was shit 15 years ago doesn't mean it's still shit now.

IMHO there are still some edges that drive you mad until you remember them but the documentation is really good and every release is full of improvements. Also many available frameworks and tools in PHP world are outstanding. For me PHP provides a serious Rapid to Market Edge.

is the PHP standard library still an inconsistent mess?

The inconsistencies are either fully removed (many in 7.x, more in 8.x), deprecated, or at least very well documented these days (e.g. with top level documentation warnings about any potential pitfalls).