The right programming language is important for development projects. Nowadays the battle is usually between Python and PHP which are two of the most popular programming languages that businesses like to use for their web development projects.
Comparing these two is a bit difficult. Many websites are developed in PHP, but there are also several of them that use Python which has become popular over the last few years.
However, which of these two languages is the best one for developing your web app? This blog post will talk about the basics of these two languages and will attempt to compare them.
Here’s our take on Phyton vs. PHP.
What is Python?
Python is an open-sourced programming language that aims at object-oriented programming concepts. It was developed by Guido Van Rossum in 1991 and is one of the most extensively used languages today mainly thanks to its easy-to-understand syntax.
Stack Overflow Survey reports in 2021 that Phyton is one of the most wanted and loved programming languages. Many companies around the world use Python when creating apps. It acts as a scripting language for web browsers which you can use for web app development.
What is PHP?
PHP or Hypertext Pre-processor is another popular choice for web developers. Like Python, it is an ope-source server scripting language that is used to create engaging user driven web pages. PHP is the choice of language with awesome features like plugins, libraries and add-ons to maximize huge community support and functionalities.
Rasmus Lerderof developed PHP or Personal Home Page in 1995. Millions of web browsers support PHP and it is a good choice for backend development of web apps.
PHP powers almost every website on the web today. It popularity is mainly due to its flexibility, pragmatism and fast language that can tackle the dynamic content of HTML websites, session tracking and databases.
Features of Python
- Can run on different platforms using the same user interface.
- Easy to read, learn, and maintain.
- It provides a perfect structure and support for large programs.
- Low-level modules are easy to include in the Python interpreter.
- It features the support for automatic garbage collection.
- Users can integrate Python with C, C++, and Java programming code.
- It provides high-level dynamic types of data and the support for dynamic type checking.
- Python assists in an interactive mode of testing and debugging.
Features of PHP
- PHP is easier to employ and code than other scripting languages.
- It supports different databases like MySQL and Oracle, and hence, provides database integration.
- It gives access to log in by making a summary of the latest user accesses.
- More efficient compared to other scripting languages like JSP and ASP, PHP is more efficient.
- Python features a few predefined error reporting constants that create a warning or error notice.
- PHP is an open-source language, you can download and use it for free.
Pros and Cons of Python
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using Python programming language for web development:
Advantages of of Python
- It is a general-purpose, object-oriented, and versatile language to employ across different fields
- Features cross-platform code reusability
- Easy to use, read, learn, and maintain
- Has automatic garbage collection
- Develops GUI apps
- It can integrate easily with programming code of other languages like Java or C++
- Features libraries like Tensorflow for math-intensive tasks
- An open-source, uniformly unfolding language
- Highly graphic and makes amateur favorable
- Portability thanks to WORA functionality
Disadvantages of Python
- Not very useful in mobile computing, browsers, and mobile app development
- It uses a huge amount of memory to offer ease to a developer
- Its slower than other website development languages
- Causes delays in the testing of web apps
- Error detection becomes difficult due to dynamic typing
- Heavy for a simple and small app or website
- Duck-typing causes run-time errors
- A bit simpler for some specific tasks
Benefits and Drawbacks of PHP
Below are the top pros and cons of using PHP for web app development:
Advantages of PHP
- Withstands top-notch debugging
- Features copious pluggable frameworks Open-source and object-oriented
- Has a large ecosystem
- Provides support for other database interfaces like No SQL, PostgreSQL, and so forth
- Supported by several operating systems and works cross-platform
- Gives support for database collection modules
- Flexible and platform-independent
- PHP-based apps support all operating systems like Windows, Linux, and UNIX.
- Features in-built SQL support
- Many open-source PHP frameworks are available to use for free
Disadvantages of PHP
- Delayed and wired performance
- You cannot change its core behavior
- Uses weak typing that can lead to wrong knowledge and data to users
- Not suitable for content-based apps
- No IOT alliance
- An inadequacy of security protocols and features
When to Choose Python?
Python is gaining popularity nowadays. Here are some instances where you should use Python.
- Building websites utilizing the Django framework
- Seeking deep data analytics
- And working in disciplines such as robotics and data science
When to Choose PHP?
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language among developers. Here are some cases when you should choose PHP:
- Less investment
- Developing blogs, web applications, and websites
- Working effectively on the server-side
Why Choose Python?
Python has many advantages, which is why it is popular. Here are reasons why you should use it for web development.
- No more coding difficulty with Python. It deals with garbage collection and memory addresses automatically.
- Python syntax is easy to understand is quick to debug. This is why its source code is easier to maintain.
- Web development is easy thanks to a wide range of pre-built libraries.
- Python supports GUI apps, such as Django, WXPython, Tkinter, etc.
- Users can run Python on different operating systems or platforms because it is a portable and flexible language.
- Python has a database-friendly interface that can store a massive amount of data for essential commercial DBMS systems.
- Python’s interactive shell helps in unit testing before implementing a product.
Why Choose PHP?
PHP is a powerful programming language. Here are some reasons to choose it.
- It is open-source and free to download
- It’s a scripting language that runs on different platforms like Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, and UNIX.
- PHP is compatible with every server, such as IIS, Apaches, etc.
- It is easy to learn and works effectively on the server side.
- PHP supports a wide range of databases.
TLDR: PHP vs Python
Why choose Python over PHP?
Choose Python over PHP for modern web app development if you need flexibility, security, high performance, easy to use, simple syntax, etc.
Which is more secure Python or PHP?
When it comes to security, Python is a preferred choice for businesses. It has many security features needed for developing complex apps. PHP has had a terrible history when it comes to security.
What is Python mostly used for?
Python, a general-purpose programming language has a wider use including web development, AI, ML, big data, mobile app development, game development, etc.
