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Choosing the best language between PHP and Python can be challenging as you need to consider many important factors. This post helps you pick the best option by explaining the basic information, features, use cases, differences, and similarities of both languages.
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To make any development project successful, you need to keep in mind several important factors. Selection of the best programming language is one of those. PHP and Python are two of the most popular programming languages that have gained vast popularity among developers. So, which one is the best? This question comes to mind in every developer and thus ignites the debate of PHP vs Python.
Of course, selecting the right programming language between these two is not easy as they both have enormous capabilities and are utilized in multiple development projects.
According to the latest stats, PHP powers almost 74.3% of websites. On the other hand, Python’s market size is likely to reach $100.6 million in 2030, with a CAGR of 44.8% during the forecast period.
In this post, we will discuss a detailed comparison of PHP and Python to help you select the right programming language based on numerous factors. Let’s take a look.
PHP is an open-source scripting language designed mainly for web development. It’s the right option for developing web apps and dynamic web pages. PHP works smoothly with MySQL and HTML. It runs on various operating systems and supports direct connections to different web servers.
With this language, developers can easily create interactive websites, manage user authentication, handle forms, and more. It includes various PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter and Laravel to simplify the overall development process.
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language used primarily for web development. It powers dynamic websites, content management systems like WordPress, and e-commerce platforms such as Magento. PHP is also used for handling forms, managing databases, creating APIs, and building web applications.
It integrates well with MySQL, PostgreSQL, and other databases. With frameworks like Laravel and CodeIgniter, PHP enables the efficient development of secure and scalable applications. Its versatility makes it a key technology for web-based software solutions.
PHP boasts a myriad of features that make it one of the most preferred programming languages among web developers. Let’s get a detailed overview of some of its most popular features.
Since PHP is case-sensitive, it treats lowercase and uppercase letters differently. Meanwhile, you need to keep in mind that function names in PHP are indeed not case-sensitive.
Another major attribute of PHP is its simplicity and easy-to-learn syntax. Even beginners find it easy to start writing PHP scripts, mainly because it’s similar to languages such as Java and C.
It includes a straightforward code structure, which makes it fully accessible for many web developers to create dynamic websites with less effort.
PHP can easily connect with various databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. This feature makes PHP a perfect choice for creating data-based websites. For instance, a website with storage capability can use PHP to save and retrieve data by connecting with MySQL.
PHP can handle forms, produce dynamic content, and manage user sessions more efficiently. It functions smoothly with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
That’s the reason why it’s considered as the most effective when it comes to developing interactive web apps. PHP powers a large number of content management systems (CMS) like Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, and more.
PHP allows web apps to perform quickly because it is lightweight. It implements scripts on the server side, which minimizes the load on users’ browsers. PHP includes built-in caching and supports optimization techniques that boost efficiency.
Python is another interpreted and high-level programming language that developers leverage widely for easy readability and simplicity. It focuses on code clarity with easy-to-learn syntax, which makes it a popular choice for both professionals and beginners.
It supports various programming paradigms, such as object-oriented, procedural, and functional programming. Whether it’s data science, web development, automation, or artificial intelligence (AI), developers can use Python for various purposes.
It’s available with vast libraries like Pandas, NumPy, TensorFlow, and more. These improve its functionality. It includes strong community support and a large ecosystem that makes it a robust choice for developers across the world.
As we discussed, Python is suitable for various fields. It’s popular in game development, cybersecurity, scientific computing, and more. Due to its readability and simplicity, Python has become the right choice for beginners. Besides, its vast libraries support even complex apps.
Many reputed tech giants leverage Python for machine learning (ML), backend development, data analysis, and more. It’s available with a vast community and cross-platform compatibility, which makes Python a robust programming language for both large-scale and small-scale enterprise apps.
Python is also available with a number of features to be used in multiple fields apart from web development. We have discussed some of its top features in-depth:
Python comes with several frameworks and libraries that can simplify the overall development process. Some of the top libraries include TensorFlow, NumPy, Pandas, PyTorch, and more. These libraries play a vital role in minimizing the necessity to do coding from scratch, which boosts development efficiency, and speed.
Since Python is a cross-platform language, code written in this language runs on multiple operating systems, such as macOS, Windows, Linux, and more. The code doesn’t need any modification.
Due to cross-platform compatibility, Python emerged as the right choice for apps that need to be implemented across multiple environments. They don’t need any changes for this.
Python is versatile and appropriate for various applications, including web development, data science, etc. It’s also the best option for cybersecurity, mainly due to its vast adaptability. From finance to healthcare, Python is used within many industries.
Python has an active and large community. Developers contribute effectively to the continuous growth of the community, which includes multiple advantages such as open-source libraries, vast documentation, active forums, discussion groups, and more.
Python focuses on code readability with its clean syntax. It’s packed with numerous features that contribute to several things like indentation-based structuring, well-organized libraries, simple syntax, and more.
Both PHP and Python have differences in terms of features and strengths, but they also share some similarities. We have discussed some of the similarities between these two:
Python and PHP are both popular high-level programming languages. Both allow developers to focus on problem-solving instead of low-level system details. Due to their high-level nature, Python and PHP are beginner-friendly and a great choice for fast development.
Both PHP and Python support dynamic typing. It means that developers don’t need to declare variable types. The interpreter can easily find out the exact type of variable at runtime.
This is an important feature that makes coding highly flexible and minimizes the necessity of boilerplate code. However, it may several times cause runtime errors, especially when you don’t handle it properly.
Another important similarity between Python and PHP is that interpreted languages reflect code execution that takes place line-by-line instead of being compiled into machine code beforehand. This plays a vital role in making debugging easy since errors can be easily detected at runtime.
Interpreted languages are generally platform-independent and facilitate developers’ coding once and running it across various operating systems. For this, developers don’t need to perform any modifications.
Python has a vast global community that effectively contributes to frameworks, libraries, documentation, and more. PHP also has a larger developer base with many open-source projects and support forums.
The strong community backing of these two languages reflects that both are well-documented. Besides, they are updated continuously and equipped with many third-party tools.
Python and PHP both support object-oriented programming (OOP) principles like encapsulation, inheritance, classes, and polymorphism. Python is object-oriented, whereas PHP includes many OOP features in later versions.
Since both languages support OOP, they are the right options for building maintainable and scalable apps.
As far as the differences between PHP and Python are concerned, they differ from each other in terms of syntax, philosophy, performance, and more. We have explained a detailed comparison of Python vs PHP based on several factors that are as follows:
PHP is available with several pre-installed hosting servers. It’s developed with keeping web development in mind. Therefore, shared hosting providers support it by default. The process to set up a PHP development environment, including WAMP and XAMPP, is fast and beginner-friendly.
PHP is quite complex to install, especially for web development. Though it’s pre-installed on various Linux distributions, setting up a Python web stack requires a complete package, along with virtual environment management through pip.
Meanwhile, several tools such as Docker and Anaconda have made the process simple.
Python offers unmatched debugging capability accompanied by built-in support from its interactive debugger and IDEs, including VS Code and PyCharm.
It includes an outstanding handling system and easily readable error messages, which make it convenient for developers to resolve issues.
PHP also supports many debugging tools, including Xdebug. However, its setup process is quite difficult compared to that of Python’s built-in tools.
Though many advanced IDEs support PHP debugging, the process is indeed less intuitive for beginners.
When it comes to fast development, Python has an edge over its counterpart. Developers can use its vast library ecosystems, concise system, and frameworks to prototype and launch apps quickly. Python focuses on both simplicity and readability, which minimizes the overall time spent writing and understanding code.
PHP offers fast development capabilities, specifically with mature frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony. Laravel has many features, such as routing, built-in authentication, and templating, that accelerate development.
Meanwhile, the broader use of Python in AI, data science, and automation offers an advantage for many projects in various domains.
Earlier PHP had benefits in web-specific performance, especially with PHP 7 and later versions enhancing execution speed and memory usage. PHP is optimized perfectly for the web and various tools, including OPCache. It works fast on many server-side apps.
Python is not as fast as PHP when it comes to serving web pages, mainly because of its interpreter nature and also general-purpose design.
Meanwhile, several tools can improve Python’s performance. These tools include PyPy, FastAPI, etc. Python may lag unless improved with compiled extensions in CPU-bound apps.
Python is better known for its readable, clean, and minimalist syntax. Indentation is an important part of the syntax, which enforces readable code across teams. It also focuses on readability, which aligns perfectly with the philosophy of Python.
On the other hand, PHP is highly flexible and complex, with less consistent syntax. Earlier, it was criticized mainly for messy code, especially in legacy apps. Modern PHP has played a vital role in improving its overall structure.
PHP is the right language for web development. As we already discussed, PHP powers one of the leading CMSs, including WordPress. It integrates smoothly with HTML databases and web servers. Laravel, one of the PHP frameworks, offers a complete full-stack development experience tailored mainly to web apps.
Python is also perfect for web development, mainly because of the immense contribution of Flask, Django, and FastAPI. Django provides battery-included and powerful frameworks that emphasize scalable and clean apps. Python’s flexibility ensures perfect integration with advanced frontend tools and APIs.
PHP often lacks security compared to its counterpart. Of course, its latest versions, PHP 7 and 8, are available with advanced security measures. But apps powered by this language require additional security measures. These include escaping techniques and proper input validation.
Python, on the other hand, has powerful security features. It’s most commonly used in many cybersecurity apps and various ethical hacking.
Python frameworks, including Django, come with built-in security features like protection against SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more. So, Python provides improved security out of the box compared to PHP.
Both languages have vast communities. PHP is one of the older languages, and its community contributes actively to many plugins, libraries, and CMS platforms, including WordPress. There are several tutorials, countless forums, and various support channels for PHP developers.
Python enjoys a growing and vast community. This is due to its multiple apps in different fields. Apart from this, Python’s community-driven nature lets developers get fast support and daily updates. That’s why Python emerged as a powerful contender in terms of community support.
PHP includes several web frameworks, such as Symfony, Laravel, Zend, CodeIgniter, and more. This language has become popular because of its MVC architecture, elegant syntax, and built-in functionalities, including routing and authentication.
Python also includes powerful web frameworks. Django is a full-fledged framework with higher scalability and built-in security features.
Being a lightweight framework, Flask offers higher flexibility and small apps. Compared to PHP frameworks, Django provides impeccable security and a quick development process.
Python’s greater versatility makes it perfect for use in multiple domains. Meanwhile, PHP is limited only to web development and server-side scripting. As far as scalability is concerned, both languages are the finest options for developing scalable apps. Python gets an edge over PHP when it comes to flexibility.
Python ensures environment management with tools like venv and virtualenv. This allows developers to create a fully isolated environment for various projects. It also makes dependency management highly efficient and prevents conflicts between various libraries.
PHP often lacks a built-in virtual environment manager, unlike Python. Meanwhile, several tools, including Composer, are useful for managing dependencies, even though they are not as modern as Python’s solutions.
Both PHP and Python languages are available with vast documentation, which makes it convenient for developers to learn and troubleshoot several issues. PHP is available with perfectly documented manuals.
Meanwhile, Python’s documentation is detailed and user-friendly. The official documentation offers clear explanations with specific examples that enable developers to grasp even complex concepts quickly.
When you plan to build a dynamic website or even a web app, you should opt for PHP. These projects often require fast development with a limited budget. PHP is apt for small—to medium-scale projects and content management systems, including WordPress, or for hosting on many shared servers.
You can also select PHP when you prioritize compatibility, cost-effectiveness, and deployment. This language is also a perfect choice when you want to maintain complete legacy systems or improve your existing PHP-based apps.
Python is the best choice for both beginners and experts, thanks to its large community support and clear syntax. You can use it to prototype and test ideas quickly. It ensures more efficiency and fast development with extensive libraries.
If you handle projects that require cross-platform app development and flexibility, you need to choose Python. Meanwhile, you need to consider alternatives for many performance-driven apps.
Both Python and PHP are powerful languages and serve a range of purposes.
PHP includes content management systems, including WordPress, and deep integration into servers. On the other hand, Python is highly versatile and has a growing community that makes it a top choice among beginners and professionals.
PHP dominates legacy web systems, whereas Python has an edge in advanced tech trends. So, based on your core project requirements, goals, and more, you need to opt for either Python or PHP.
Our team helps businesses choose between PhP and Python by offering tailored development solutions for scalable and high-performing apps.
So, you may have already selected the best language for your upcoming development projects after going through the debate of PHP vs Python, right? Both languages have enormous capabilities in specific areas. You need to always keep in mind their strengths and weaknesses to make the right selection.
Moon Technolabs specializes in working on both languages and thus helps you select the best option based on our experience. While suggesting you the best option, we consider the following important things;
Get in touch with us to find the right option for you.
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Jayanti Katariya is the CEO of Moon Technolabs, a fast-growing IT solutions provider, with 18+ years of experience in the industry. Passionate about developing creative apps from a young age, he pursued an engineering degree to further this interest. Under his leadership, Moon Technolabs has helped numerous brands establish their online presence and he has also launched an invoicing software that assists businesses to streamline their financial operations.
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