April 11, 2023
Today’s the age of interactive websites and mobile applications. Every company is looking for the edge to out-compete their opponents. Website and mobile applications are the two pillars of businesses in the current day and age. Thanks to the rise of website and mobile application development companies, you have a plethora of options to choose from.
If you are planning to outsource your web development project or looking to build one yourself, have you decided which backend development language you want to use? There are plenty of languages like PHP, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, and C#. You can create an out-of-the-box website with all these programming languages.
Based on their resilience and exceptional features, PHP vs Python vs JavaScript for web and app development becomes a fierce competition. In this article, we have broken down their features, pros, and cons. At the end of the blog, you can decide which one to choose for your project.
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open-source server-side scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can easily be embedded in HTML. PHP was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf. It is used to create dynamic web pages and can be used in combination with various web template systems, web content management systems, and web frameworks. PHP code can be executed on the server, and the output is then sent to the client as plain HTML. Many developers consider it to be the best backend development language for web development.
Let’s look at some of the features of PHP that will come in handy while developing your website project.
PHP is open-source, which means that is free to use and distribute, and the source code is available to anyone to modify and improve. This is beneficial for small businesses or individual developers who may not have the budget for expensive commercial software.
PHP is a server-side scripting language, which means that the code is executed on the server before the result is sent to the client’s web browser. It’s great for security as sensitive information such as database passwords can be kept on the server and exposed to the client.
This feature allows developers to create dynamic web pages by mixing static HTML code with dynamic PHP code. When a web server receives a request for an HTML file with embedded PHP code, it will first process the PHP code before sending the final output to the client’s web browser. It allows developers to create web pages that can change based on user input, server-side data, or other factors, without the need for the client’s web browsers to have special capabilities.
PHP has built-in support for many popular databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle. This allows developers to easily connect and interact with databases. It enables PHP to perform various database operations such as inserting, updating, deleting, and retrieving data from a database.
PHP has a large and active community of developers, which means there are countless resources available for learning the language, and getting help when needed. You can use forums and groups to ask the community for help if you are stuck with anything.
The backend development language is compatible with many different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS, making it a versatile choice for web development. This means that a PHP application developed on a Windows machine can also run on a Linux or macOS server, and vice versa.
Note: Some of the above points might not be considered demerits to some developers and it also depends on the project and its requirements.
Python is a high-level, interpreted, general-purpose programming language that was created by Guido Van Rossum in the late 1980s and was released in 1991. It is a versatile and powerful language that is widely used for web development, scientific computing, data analysis, AI, and a wide variety of tasks.
Let’s look at some of the features of Python programming language:
Python is an interpreted language, which means that the code is executed line by line, rather than being compiled into machine code before execution. This allows for faster development and testing, as there is no need to wait for the code to be compiled.
It is an object-oriented language, which means that it is based on the concept of objects and classes. This allows for encapsulation and abstraction of data and function, making it easier to organize and reuse code.
Python has a large standard library that includes modules for common programming tasks such as connecting to web servers, reading and writing files, and working with data. This makes it easy to perform common tasks without having to write additional code.
Python has built-in memory management, which automatically manages the allocation and deallocation of memory. This eliminates the need for manual memory management, which can be error-prone, and time-consuming.
Python supports multiple programming paradigms such as imperative, procedural, functional, and object-oriented programming. This allows developers to choose the most appropriate paradigm for their tasks and to switch between them easily.
Python has a large and active community of developers, which means that there are many resources available for learning the language and getting help when needed. This community is constantly working on developing new libraries, tools, and frameworks which makes it easier for developers to accomplish their tasks.
JavaScript is a programming language that is commonly used to create interactive and dynamic user interfaces for websites and web applications. It was first developed by Brendan Eich in 1995 and is now one of the most popular programming languages in the world.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the features of JavaScript:
JavaScript is a dynamic language, which means that the data types of variables are determined at runtime, rather than being explicitly declared. This allows for more flexibility in the code and eliminates the need for explicit typecasting.
It is an event-driven language, which means that it can respond to events such as user input, page loads, and other interactions. This makes it well-suited for creating interactive and dynamic user interfaces.
JavaScript is primarily used as a client-side scripting language, which means that it is executed by the client’s web browsers rather than on the server. This allows for faster and more responsive web pages, as the code runs on the client’s machine.
JavaScript supports asynchronous programming which allows multiple tasks to run at the same time without blocking the execution of other tasks, this allows better performance and user experience.
It has support for functional programming and it is increasingly used being used to develop functional-style code, making it easy to handle complex application logic.
All three programming languages are easy to use but Python is often considered the easiest programming language to learn and use due to its simple and readable syntax. It is also many people’s first programming language because of its simplicity and ease to understand. PHP is the tough guy among the three. It needs some time to perfect the language and use it on daily basis.
The performance of all three programming languages varies in certain ways. When it comes to data analysis and scientific computing, Python performs well. When it comes to a task that requires DOM (Document Object Model) manipulation in web browsers, JavaScript is quick. PHP is widely used to handle a large number of requests and tasks without compromising performance. PHP was considered slower back in the day but the release of PHP versions 7 and 8 changed everything. The performance in PHP has improved drastically.
The community support for all three programming languages is sky-high. JavaScript has the largest community support in the world with roughly 17.4 million software developers followed closely by Python. The JavaScript community is constantly working on dropping new features and improving the existing ones. Python and PHP have a large number of tutorials, and online resources to help you learn and execute programs.
PHP, Python, and JavaScript have built-in debugging tools to help you compile the program easily. You don’t need to set up anything specific in Python for debugging whereas you need additional setup work in PHP which is not that difficult. JavaScript and Python are on the same level when it comes to debugging followed closely by PHP.
Before jumping to a conclusion, it’s worth noting that no language can be considered completely secured and it’s important for developers to follow best practices and use appropriate tools and libraries to secure their applications or website. All three languages have several in-built security features that can protect your site or application from vulnerability and attacks. Python is slightly ahead in terms of security whereas, JavaScript and PHP are right behind them.
Summing up, PHP, Python, and JavaScript are all amazing developing languages that can create powerful websites and applications. The key thing to keep in mind is your requirements, time, effort, and budget you can spare to build a website for your business. PHP has come a long way and dynamic capabilities and library have quickly made it one of the most popular programming languages for building websites.
We have highlighted some key advantages and disadvantages of all three programming languages used for building websites and applications. Make sure you choose precisely and don’t regret it in the development phase.
Are you planning to build a website for your website or update your existing one? If yes, iClickSee is the best place to contact. You can get in touch with us via our online form or simply schedule a call with us to discuss your project.