Introduction

PHP and Python are the two most popular server-side languages that most businesses prefer. However, choosing a side between the “PHP vs Python” debate is not that easy. While a massive number of websites are programmed in PHP, Python has also been witnessing a steep upward trend in the past few years. As, both PHP and Python have their very own advantages and disadvantages. 

PHP is known to the tech-savvy before Python and most of the websites are developed in PHP, But Python has also acquired great market popularity since it was launched. 

In this blog, we will discuss the basics of these two programming languages and then will do a detailed comparison. So, let’s get started!!

What is Python?

Python is an open-source programming language that aims at object-oriented programming concepts. According to stack overflow survey 2021, Python is one of the most used preferred languages. Many companies in the world use Python with their apps. This acts as a scripting language for web browsers, and thereby, one can use it for web app development.

Here are some of the pros and cons of using the Python programming language for web app development.

Pros of Python 

Here are some of the pros of choosing Python for web app development process:-

• Python is a general-purpose, object-oriented, and versatile programming language to employ across various fields. 
• Develops GUI apps.
• Provides features of cross-platform code reusability.
• An open-source, uniformly unfolding language.
• This is easy to use, read, learn, and maintain.
• Has libraries like Tensorflow for math-intensive tasks.
• Highly graphic and favorable.
• WORA functionality makes it portable.
• Provides features like automatic garbage collection.
• Can integrate easily with programming code of other languages like Java or C++.

Cons of Python

Despite lots of pros, there are certain cons of choosing Python, Let’s have a look at them:-

• Python uses a massive amount of memory.
• A bit simpler for some specific tasks.
• Duck-typing causes run-time errors.
• Makes delays in the testing of web apps.
• Works slower than other website development languages.
• Error detection becomes a bit difficult due to dynamic typing.

When To Choose Python? 

Python programming language is becoming more popular nowadays. Below are some of the use cases of when one should opt for Python:-

Why Choose Python? 

Python boasts many advantages, and thereby, is the most popular technology these days. Here is the reason why one should choose Python for web development:-

• With a wide range of pre-built libraries, Python web development is easy to use.
• Python eliminates the difficulty of coding and deals with garbage collection and memory addresses automatically.
• Python syntax is quick to comprehend, and it’s easy to debug also. Hence, its source code is easier to maintain.
• It considers a database-friendly interface that can store a massive amount of data for essential commercial DBMS systems.
• As it is a portable and versatile language, one can run Python on various operating systems or platforms.
• Python’s interactive shell aids unit testing before implementing a product.
• Having a framework for the web, Python supports GUI apps. For instance, Django, WXPython, TKinter, etc.

What is PHP?

PHP or Hypertext Preprocessor is a suitable choice of programming language for web developers. It’s an open-source server scripting language used for creating engaging, user-driven website pages. PHP is the actual choice of language with some outstanding features, plugins, libraries, and add-ons to maximize colossal community support and functionalities.

PHP empowers almost every website on the web. It’s a flexible, pragmatic, and fast language that can tackle dynamic content on HTML websites, session tracking, and databases.

Below we are mentioning a few of the top advantages and drawbacks of using PHP for web app development:

Pros of PHP

Below-mentioned are the pros of choosing PHP as your web app development technology:-

• Features a large ecosystem
• Sustains top-notch debugging
• PHP-based apps support all operating systems like Windows, Linux, and UNIX
• Many open-source PHP frameworks are available for free
• Flexible and platform-independent
• Gives support to various database interfaces like No SQL, PostgreSQL, and many more
• PHP features copious pluggable frameworks open-source and object-oriented
• Features in-built SQL support
• Gives support for database collection modules
• PHP provides support for several operating systems and works cross-platform

Cons of PHP

With lots of pros of PHP, there are a few cons also. Let’s have a look at them:-

• No IOT alliance
• Impeded and wired performance
• Not suitable for content-based applications
• Its core behavior cannot be changed.
• An inadequacy of security protocols and features
• Uses weak typing that can lead to wrong knowledge and data to users

When to Choose PHP?

PHP is a popular server-side scripting language among developers. Here are some of the scenarios when one can go with PHP:-

Why Choose PHP? 

Since PHP is a powerful programming language, one can choose it for the below-mentioned reasons.

• PHP is open-source and free to download.
• Supports a wide range of databases.
• This is compatible with every server, such as IIS, Apache.
• Easy to learn and works effectively on the server-side.
• PHP is a scripting language that runs on various platforms like Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, and UNIX.

PHP vs Python: A Detailed Comparison

A detailed comparison of PHP vs Python will help you understand and decide the most appropriate programming language to use, how easy and efficient it is to work with and give the best result for your web development efforts.

Flexibility:- 

Machine Learning powered web apps are in high demand these days and ML is a significant point of Python also. Hence, Python provides excellent machine learning libraries, such as Pandas, Tensorflow, Theano, and Scikit-learn. These libraries are rapid, robust, and unique, and most significantly, they can perfectly function with a web framework.

Remember that Python is beneficial in several fields and not just in web development, whereas PHP is significant only when it comes to web development. So, here Python scores more than PHP.

Web Framework:- 

Both PHP vs Python provide powerful and well-designed web development frameworks. Many big organizations use web frameworks that PHP offers. For instance, Symfony, and Laravel are mature frameworks and a large community of developers supports them. Therefore, PHP makes web development easy.

Python also provides many extraordinary frameworks. The two of the most famous Python-based web frameworks are Flask and Django. These are highly scalable, fast, easy to use, and secure. Developers usually prefer Django over PHP-based frameworks to enjoy an easy setup and shorter development period. 

Community Support:-

PHP and Python both have excellent community support. Since PHP has been in the market for a longer time for web app development, it has a large community of developers who can immediately offer great support.

On the other hand, Python closely matches PHP. Since many Python developers are continuously developing Python apps. Community support is also excellent in the case of Python. So none of them is a clear winner here. 

Ease of Use:- 

Python is an open-source, portable, and versatile programming language that is easy to employ. Moreover, Python’s syntax’s programming language is also very simple. Compared to PHP, coding is easier to grasp with Python.

PHP is not an ordinary programming language as it’s used only for designing dynamic website pages with HTML. It makes PHP less productive than Python. Hence, in terms of ease of use, Python triumphs over PHP.

Security:- 

In terms of security, Python is the preferred option for many tech firms. For example, Django boasts many pre-built security features that help safeguard the apps from various security threats. Moreover, many government entities also depend on Python as their secret hacking tool. 

Although its robust community support has addressed most of the security problems, PHP is less robust as compared to Python in terms of security. Therefore, Python is a clear winner in terms of security.

Speed to Market:- 

Python features a great set of third-party libraries, packages, and modules to finish a project faster. For example, Django is one of the most popular web frameworks written in Python. It drags the MVC pattern to enable developers to develop apps much faster using a great division of concerns and reusability. 

PHP also boasts its set of tools, incorporating frameworks and libraries. For example, Laravel is the most famous PHP framework that accepts the MVC pattern and arrives pre-packaged with many helpful features for web development like templating, routing, authentication, and many more.

Debugging:- 

Python Debugger is an in-built debugger of Python. It uses many debugging strategies. PDB features dynamic typing and allows developers to work effortlessly without announcing things straight at the beginning of a program.

PHP also provides an XDebug package for addressing bugs and error-checking the codes for developers. However, PHP development is significantly slower in discovering and removing bugs. Hence, it experiences many security problems.

Environment Management:- 

Python has always been the best programming language when it comes to handling environments. Its virtual environment system helps install different versions of the language and move among them immediately.

PHP cannot compete with Python in the matter of environment management. VirtPH, an analog for PHP, is there, but it’s archived and not quite maintained. Hence, developers like to use containers with PHP. So, Python is the winner here.

Library Management:- 

Python employs Pip for dealing with packages. Pip makes sure that Python app development is rapid, easy, and fulfills all development needs.

The library management of PHP is less potent than Python. Python has a broader assortment of packages and a handy set of tools for an easier development process. Hence, Python is the winner here also. 

Ease of Learning:- 

Python is undoubtedly easier to learn. One can pick up this general-purpose programming language very quickly. It is easier to choose a programming course for beginners. Python programs are shorter and easy to write as compared to other languages.

Whereas, on the other hand, PHP is made for sophisticated web applications, unlike stand-alone, simple programs. It is not a general-purpose language at all. Hence, it takes much time to learn PHP as compared to Python.

Concluding Words 

Although both PHP vs Python perform great in web development, Python triumphs over PHP in many aspects. However, this does not imply that one has to select Python and neglect PHP. Both PHP and Python are excellent programming languages for developing web apps. 

Lastly, it largely depends on your project’s requirement and your PHP or Python abilities, knowledge, and expertise when you are developing your web apps. 

CodeStore Technologies is a leading mobile and web app development company in India and the USA helping many small and medium scale businesses in developing the best and the robust web apps for their business. We are a leading Python and PHP service provider all over the world. 

If you are looking to develop a web app for your business then feel free to get in touch with us. Share your requirements at: [email protected].