PHP Vs Python- Which One will You Choose for Your Next Project?

PHP Vs Python
January 13, 2022

Introduction

Programming languages play a vital role in the development of any web or mobile app development project. Therefore, choosing the right language is more significant. With the emerging technological needs, developers use a wide range of languages in their projects. However, when we talk about web development ventures, Python and PHP are the most popular languages. A majority of businesses use these programming languages when it comes to web development.

When you compare these two languages, selecting one of them becomes difficult. Though PHP has been used to develop a wide range of websites, Python has also become quite well-known in the last couple of years.

However, in this blog, we will help you decide which of these two programming languages is suitable for your project. Let us take a look at the features and differences of these two.

What is Python?

Python is an advanced object-oriented programming language. It consists of in-built data structures, along with binding and data typing. As a result, it is considered to be an ideal choice for faster application development projects.

With Python, you can have the functionality of code reuse and system modularity, as it offers modules and packages. Therefore, it is considered to be one of the fastest programming languages. The programming language requires a few lines of code, which adds to the speed. Moreover, readability and simplicity are the main features of this language, which make it peculiar.

Features of Python

  • You can run Python on several hardware platforms with the same UI.
  • It offers the functionality of automatic garbage collection.
  • Python provides an easy to read, maintain, and learning platform.
  • It supports large programs and provides an ideal structure.
  • It is simple to include low-level modules in the Python interpreter.
  • Python can smoothly work with Java, C, and C++ programming codes.
  • It offers an interactive debugging and testing mode.

Pros of Python

  • Python is an object-oriented, general-purpose, and adaptable language that can be employed across different platforms.
  • It is easy to read, learn, and maintain.
  • It offers an automatic garbage collection feature.
  • Python is useful in building GUI applications.
  • It can easily work with languages such as C++ or Java.
  • Python offers libraries such as Tensorflow to accomplish mathematical tasks.
  • It is an open-source language.
  • It offers high graphical features.
  • Python offers portability through the WORA feature.
  • It offers code reusability functionality.

Cons of Python

  • It is a slow programming language when compared to other website development languages.
  • You cannot use Python for mobile computing, browsers, and mobile app development.
  • It proves to be a complex language when it comes to building a simple application or website.
  • Python offers a delayed process in the testing of web apps.
  • You have to face run-time errors due to its duck-typing.
  • Dynamic typing makes error detection difficult.
  • It utilizes a huge amount of memory to make it easy for developers.

What is PHP?

Pre-processor Hypertext is a server-side scripting language. It is widely known as PHP and is used to build dynamic web apps and websites. It smoothly fits with a majority of web servers on most of the operating systems.

PHP has been in existence for a long time and is widely used as an efficient alternative to competitors such as ASP. It is an open-source programming language, which means that it is freely available.

Features of PHP

  • PHP offers effortless deployment and coding when compared to other scripting languages.
  • It offers the functionality of login with the help of a collection of the latest user accesses.
  • It offers support for databases such as Oracle and MySQL, which means that it provides database integration.
  • With the help of predefined error reporting factors, PHP offers to create a warning error notice.
  • PHP is more efficient when compared to languages such as ASP and JSP.
  • As we mentioned above, it is available for free. Hence, you can download it for free.

Pros of PHP

  • PHP consists of a huge network.
  • It has the support of a wide range of operating systems and efficiently works cross-platform.
  • It offers high-level debugging.
  • It supports database interfaces such as PostgreSQL, No SQL, and more.
  • It consists of database modules.
  • PHP is a platform-independent and flexible programming language.
  • It offers several pluggable object-oriented and open-source frameworks.
  • PHP offers built-in SQL features.
  • Apps built with PHP support OS such as UNIX, Linux, and Windows.
  • You can use various PHP frameworks for free.

Cons PHP

  •  PHP offers a hindered performance.
  •  It is not suitable for content-based applications.
  •  It doesn’t support the IoT alliance.
  •  The core behaviour is unchangeable.
  •  It lacks security features and protocols.

Python Vs PHP- Comparison

Support for Libraries

Python is better than PHP when it comes to supporting libraries. Various enterprises today, have started investing in machine learning web apps. In this direction, Python consists of a wide array of libraries such as Scikit, TensorFlow, Learn, and more.

On the other hand, PHP doesn’t have sufficient library support. Thus, if you plan to develop ML-oriented web apps, Python becomes the ideal choice.

Performance

A couple of years back, Python was believed to be the fastest programming language. However, the emergence of PHP 7 changed the game completely. It means that PHP is today, considered to be 3 times faster than Python and other programming languages.

Moreover, with PHP, developers can process huge amounts of data quickly at one go with high speed. The biggest benefits of PHP over Python are its speed and scalability.

Versatility

With the emerging technologies in the market, web apps have started integrating AI. Business enterprises providing services to customers have started using AI and machine learning algorithms. As a result, they could address their users more accurately, along with identifying particular domains of their business for investment.

Security

When you think about securing your app from all angles, Python is the recommended choice for organizations. For example, the Django framework consists of in-built security features that protect the app from several kinds of security threats.

On the other hand, PHP has a poor record in the matter of security. It has failed in offering flawless security when compared to Python, though almost all security issues have been addressed due to its robust community support.

Community Support

Community support stands almost equal in both programming languages. PHP has been one of the oldest and well-known server-side languages. Therefore, it has a wide range of community support. A majority of the websites are on PHP, which shows that it has incredible community support.

Python also has gained immense community support in the last couple of years. When it was revealed that Google has used this programming language for its apps like YouTube, it received the proper limelight. Eventually, various tech giants used it for their backend purpose.

Complexity

Python and PHP are both object-oriented languages. They are compatible with many operating systems. However, when it comes to using a language effortlessly, Python is the ideal choice. The complexity of syntax makes PHP a difficult language to understand.

On the other hand, Python offers the best readability, which makes it simple to understand. You can easily read and interpret the codes written in Python, which simplifies the debugging process.

Syntax

The syntax is the most important factor that developers consider before choosing a programming language. In this case, Python beats PHP. It is because Python offers an easy-to-use syntax, which helps developers code without any limits. Moreover, it has high readability that simplifies the debugging process.

On the other hand, PHP has a complicated syntax, which puts certain boundaries on developers while using it during the development process.

Documentation

PHP has a complete documentation site, wherein developers can include their comments on the relevant documentation pages. The documentation language is simple and even beginners can understand it. However, the functionality of putting comments on the documentation pages can have its drawbacks. It is because the developer going through the documentation pages can get confused with those comments that you have put.

Python doesn’t allow commenting and therefore, there are no such issues. Moreover, the documents are not so conversational, which means that they are difficult to read and understand. In this case, PHP beats Python.

Are you in search of skilled PHP developers?

Hire PHP Developers

Wrapping Up

In a nutshell, your project requirements will determine which programming language you need to choose. However, we have described the features, pros, and cons of both programming languages above. Therefore, choose the one that best suits your development needs.

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