Python Worth It In 2022? Php Vs. Python Compared

Python Worth It In 2022? Php Vs. Python Compared

 

In 2022, all new businesses need a website or a mobile app, or both. These platforms are connected to a server in the backend making backend development one of the most highly sought-after skills.

New developers are faced with a variety of programming languages from JavaScript and Ruby, to PHP and Python, which are the most popular choices for backend programming. What is the difference between PHP and Python and what makes them so popular?

Python

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level functioning programming language. This programming language is used in software development, web development, and system scripting and is a favourite for many programmers and data scientists.

It was developed in 1991 by Guido van Rossum and has since been developed into various versions, including Python 2, Python 3, and the latest version Python 3.9.2 released on 19th February 2021.

 

Features

  • Easy to learn, code, and maintain
  • Can be executed on different platforms with the same interface
  • Expressive language
  • Open-source
  • Object-oriented
  • Interpreted language
  • High-level dynamic data types
  • Automatic garbage collection

 

Pros:

  • Extensive library support and object-oriented designs boost productivity helping programmers create neat, clean codes
  • Enhances application performance
  • Easily accessible by programmers
  • WORA functionality makes it portable

 

Cons:

  • Weak in mobile computing
  • Increased run-time errors due to design restrictions
  • Takes up large amounts of memory at the application building stage

 

PHP

Hypertext Pre-processor is a popular open-source scripting language. PHP is extensively used for server-side web-dev because of its capability to generate dynamic page content. PHP can collect form data, send and receive cookies, add, delete and modify data, and control user access as well as encrypt data.

This language was created by Rasmus Lerdorf and was originally named Personal Home Page. The first version was released in June 1995 and since then there have been several developments in the subsequent PHP versions.

 

The latest, version PHP 8 was released in November 2020.

 

Features

  • Runs on diverse platforms including Unix, Windows, Linus, and Mac OS X
  • Compatible with almost all servers
  • Easy to learn and efficient of the server-side
  • Supports a wide range of databases including MySQL and Oracle
  • Easy to use and code
  • Open-source
  • Predefined error reporting constants
  • Offers access logging by monitoring recent accesses of a user
  • Object-oriented features

 

Pros:

  • Common web development tasks are automated
  • Developers do not require to write additional code
  • Robust security features
  • Easy to manage code

 

Cons:

  • Programmers must understand various PHP frameworks such as Yii, CakePHP and others
  • Varying quality for each PHP framework
  • Does not offer enough options for developers to change core behaviour of frameworks
  • Weak handling of large size of applications
  • Advanced PHP features may affect speed and performance for smaller sites.

 

 

PHP vs Python

 

Framework Python PHP
Ease of Learning Easy to learn. Difficult to learn compared to Python.
Documentation Well documented on official websites and forums. Also well documented.
Community Support Exceptional community support. Also features exceptional community support.
Library Support Well-developed library support for different types of applications. PHP lags on library support but features Composer and Packagist which manage libraries more efficiently.
Web Framework Options Django, Pylons, CubicWeb, TurboGears, Flask, Pyramid, Bottle, and more. Zend, CodeIgniter, Laravel, Symfony, Phalcon, Yii, and more
Flexibility and Versatility Features machine learning capabilities and artificial intelligence that adapt to new trends for scalability. Less flexible
Speed Python is considered relatively fast. PHP is the clear winner in this category with 3X speed
Debugging Features Python Debugger, PDB. Features XD

 

PHP VS Python

It is difficult to choose between the two languages with both featuring their own strong suits. However, the choice depends solely on the business requirements. Python has a quicker code compilation process than PHP.

A banking website receiving huge traffic daily would need Python’s exceptional speed to reduce delays in its system performance. Python also displays better performance in science-based applications which need fast computing such as Big Data and AI.

PHP has been the go-to choice for many web developers, however, Python is quickly gaining traction with its distinct features and exceptional functionalities. Experienced programmers can choose either of the languages to design basic websites but for novices, we recommend starting with Python before venturing into PHP.

 

So which is better between Python and PHP?

 

Python emerges as the clear winner in the battle of the programming languages.