Sun Mar 13 2022

Python vs PHP for web development

Web development is a wide term used for the work in developing a website for the Internet or an intranet. It includes web designing, web content development, network security configuration etc. It ranges from creating text pages to complex web applications.

To developing websites, developers need programming languages. There have also many choices in terms of marketable modern programming languages … there is plenty of work for the languages. Each language though means a different kind of programming, and that often means a different type of person would enjoy the different type of programming languages.

But, the two most prominent programming languages used for web development are Python and PHP.

PHP

This programming is focused on web development, and that’s all you will do with PHP. In fact, PHP is the most used server-side web app programming language today. It is a scripting language designed for web development which is used to create dynamic and interactive HTML Web pages; it is also used as a general-purpose programming language. It is introduced by Rasmus Lerdorf in the year 1994. The full form of PHP is Personal Home Page but now it is known as Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP code can be easily inserted into the HTML of a Web page. It is the fastest source to create database-enabled dynamic websites.

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Key Features of PHP

Open source

It is the open source of programming which means you don’t need to pay to use it. You can download for free and use the PHP language.

Speed

It is comparatively faster than another scripting language since it uses much system resources.

Simplicity

It is very easy to use as compared to other scripting languages. It is very simple and easy and widely used all over the world.

Error reporting

PHP has a function to generate warning or error notice so that one can easily find the errors & can fix it on time.

Interpreted

There is no need for compilation as it is an interpreted language.

Independent

It is a platform independent language as PHP code can be run on every platform like Linux, UNIX, Mac OS X, and Windows etc.

Python

On the other hand, Python is a general purpose language that is used in many areas. It's a high-level programming language, designed by Guido van Rossum. It started in 1991 and has a design philosophy that stresses on code readability, notably using remarkable whitespace. It's also used for web development, software development, mathematics, data sciences, AI and ML, web application, server automation, and system scripting. Python code has a natural style which makes it is easy to read and understand.

Key Features of Python

Object-oriented

Python supports both procedure oriented and project-oriented programming as well. It has a very powerful but easy way of performing object-oriented programming as compared to other programming languages.

Beginner friendly

It is a beginner friendly language because it is easy to understand and fun to use. That is one of the reasons that python has gained popularity to be a beginner friendly language.

High-level language

As it is a high-level programming language so while using the python you not need to worry about low-level details such as managing the memory used by the program.

Shorter codes

Another advantage of python language is that its coding is quite shorter than other programming languages.

Clear syntax

Python does not consist of curly braces; it has a very clear, brief and orthogonal syntax.

Let's see, what are the differences between Python and PHP?

Python strength is the flexibility of the language. PHP’s strength is that it is the best at building web apps, all things considered.
PHP was designed as a ‘web development’ language while Python was designed as a ‘general purpose’ language.
Many programmers say that Python is far cleaner than PHP when it comes to syntax. This is extremely easy to read the language.
In Python, there are no dollar signs and -> like in the PHP code. This makes the Python code easier to skim through, especially when programmers have to debug code in big projects.
In PHP, the functional programming is not provided but in python, functional programming and techniques are possible.
Python has a construction that helps make it carefully considered, well designed and robust language. PHP, on the other hand, seems not to be so well thought out. It is much easier to use Python to write great code.
PHP has a short learning curve. And is very easy to get started with. Working with it is fun and easy and you are likely to feel very productive.
PHP is a scripting language that operates on the server side. On the other hand, Python is far more versatile and can be used for dozens of purposes other than web development.
Python is nowhere near as widely used as PHP, so its employability factor, specifically in regards to web development, is much more limited.
Python is one of the most secure programming languages and as a stand-alone solution, it can be used to write the most delicate pieces of software. But PHP has several security issues and those have to be handled through the use of additional tools.
PHP developers always have to be on the lookout for solutions that will make their code less hack-friendly.
OOP is just as bad as in Python. Possibly worse due to the syntax. It still uses this.
Package management is there in PHP.
Python is also more flexible than PHP. Python provides many opportunities for those who decide to use it for developing web applications.
The use of various third-party modules in order to achieve some really interesting things. These modules usually file with pre-written Python code and can contain functions, classes, and variables.
Classes and functions of Python are far superior to PHP. it is still more complex to code in PHP than in Python.
In PHP, there are two awesome statements “do-while” and “switch”. You can use private, protected and public modifiers for both. it is very easy to provide more functionality to multi-threaded objects.
PHP offers a large no. of Frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony power popular applications that are used by millions of users. PHP uses one of the mature Frameworks that are maintained by an enthusiastic community.
The PHP community offers far more support than the Python community.
PHP frameworks such as Symfony and Laravel empower popular applications that are used by millions of users. PHP developers have the advantage of mature frameworks that are maintained by an enthusiastic community.
Python has high usability that helps you develop more powerful, scalable and high performing software.
PHP offers more versatile options in both CMS and frameworks that match the specifications of the project.
Python has the best learning curve than PHP. High learning curve value helps you easy-to-understand and possess pretty clean codes.
PHP is the high performing language that helps you to produce scalable, secure and speedy software programs.
PHP has been in the market for a long time and it is widely used even today. Facebook, for instance, has its substantial backend developed in PHP in initial days.

You can get more information about these two languages from our other articles -

PHP

Python

Different programming languages mean a different type of job. The key is to explore a little on your part, check out which type of jobs you can get with Python, and the type of jobs you can get with PHP. Both languages share about 90-95% of the same principles and concepts. The code looks different, but learning the code is the easy part. We would suggest Python if you want to get into AI and ML; PHP if you want to create web apps or work with WordPress in a serious way.

Hope that helps! You can share your experiences with us in the comments below. Thank you!

Author:Geekboots