PHP vs Python | Best Web Application Development Programming Language

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PHP vs Python: To grab as many users’ attention as possible, companies around the world aim to choose a programming language that can help them build feature-rich and scalable web solutions. PHP and Python are the most preferred languages among web developers.

The debate between the advocates of these two languages is a battle that doesn’t seem to end. This is due to the undeniably powerful features that both languages have.

Though PHP and Python are used for different purposes, it’s undebatable that both are in great demand. PHP was initially launched as a web programming language, whereas Python was developed as a general-purpose programming language.

Let’s dive more into the languages and figure out which language is better for web development. The below article is a detailed comparison between PHP and Python, which might provide you insights to select ‘the one’ that fits your web development project right.

Overview of Python – PHP vs Python

Like any other back-end language, Python is a high-level language, object-oriented programming language. This language has its own set of built-in data structures. It also enables dynamic typing & binding, a great feature for instant application development.

Python helps programmers to re-use codes and recombine the systems with their set of packages and modules. It’s outstanding in terms of speed, agility, and simplicity, which in turn makes it a beginner’s favorite language.

Brief introduction of PHP

PHP is a scripting language and interpreter. It is open-source and developers use it to fabricate a dynamic website or web application. It is phenomenal and can easily blend with major web servers.

PHP is older and more popular than Python. Since it’s less to no cost overall, it’s a go-to framework for many web developers. This technology is easy and can build modern-day applications.

PHP vs Python: A Face-Off

Features:

Python is famous for its rich libraries.

Pandas- They contain high-performance data structures and analysis modules.
TensorFlow- It helps in creating deep learning modules and features, such as Image Detection
Numpy- Numpy deals with scientific and mathematical computing with Python.
Scikit learns- It is a software machine learning library for Data Analysis, Mining, and Machine Learning.

Python Frameworks:

Django- Django is a high-level framework that encourages rapid development and clean designs for applications.
Tornado- It is a useful framework for developing scalable web applications
Flask- Flask is a micro-framework useful for microservices and web applications.
Scrapy- It is designed for data extraction and web crawling.

Python comes with a set of reliable third-party libraries, modules, and packages to complete the projects swiftly with only a few lines of code compared to other server-side languages like Java or PHP.

PHP frameworks: PHP vs Python

Symphony- It is one of the best tools to create applications quickly.
Laravel- Though it’s a new framework, it did not take much time to gain immense popularity. It’s lightweight, fast, and helps you develop your website quickly.

PHP Libraries:

PHP Mailer- It is a simple email library that makes it easier for you to send, receive and manage your mails.
ReCaptcha- It is the simplest and the most sophisticated captcha authentication library.

And it’s clear Python has the upper hand in features like libraries and frameworks.

Complexity:

PHP vs Python, both languages are dynamic in nature and object-oriented languages go fine with multiple operating systems. But they are a tad bit different in terms of ease of use.

At first, PHP was developed as a web development tool for creating dynamic websites and web applications. PHP development might not be a cakewalk because of its rigid syntax.

Unlike PHP, Python is quite simple to understand, thanks to its high readability. Also, in python, the code can be easily interpreted which results in a smooth debugging process. Due to this, it’s easier to hire a Python web developer than to go for an experienced PHP developer.

Security:

Data security and sensitive information about the employees or the end-users are tropical issues in any business. Python has topped in this field as well. It has several security features that can be used to develop complex applications. For example, Django has built-in security features that enable developers to deal with threats effectively.

But it’s not the same case with PHP. When you build apps using PHP, one may come across a lot of security issues because of its traditional coding practices. On the whole, skilled app developers use both languages to create secure applications if they follow the latest security practices.

Community Support:

Both Python and PHP have massive community support. PHP has been in the industry since 1995 and has managed to shape a huge community of skilled developers.

Python was released a bit earlier, just like PHP, it has managed to form a large community of developers, who do not back out from helping others. Hence both languages are backed up with huge community support.

Scalability:

If companies want to remain in this field of extreme competition, they need to make sure that their apps are developed to quickly adapt to emerging technologies and customer requirements. Both PHP and Python are good for web app development since they offer a great and rich-featured set of libraries, frameworks.

PHP provides multiple robust web frameworks that help in making complex applications for large brands. And so does Python, it has got many frameworks for web app development that make apps fast, safe, scalable.

Performance:

Application speed is an essential factor that helps in determining its fluidity and functionality. Today’s digital world breathes in swift applications. If we go back in time, Python was faster than PHP.

But with the release of PHP 7, Python has gone a few steps down. PHP is now faster than Python and many other languages.

For building subtle and small-scale applications, both languages are a good fit.

Conclusion:

Both the parties have their own set of pros and cons. It might be an advantage for a developer if they go for Python for its rapid, secure, versatile, and flexible technology, while another developer might find the updated version of PHP more efficient for their web application.

So, what is the best web application development programming language between Python vs PHP? One might wonder. It solely depends on your business and application requirements.

These two are ground-breaking web development languages, which are thriving in the industry like no other language.

Python is widely used in AI, Data Science, Machine Learning, Big Data, and the scientific community. Whereas PHP can be a great choice for e-commerce websites and content management because of its unmatched integrations.

In the end, the language is totally dependent on the needs of the company. Hope this article helps developers to choose a language for their esteemed web application.