Selecting The Correct Backend Technology: PHP vs Python

An application is just as strong as the supporting backend. Developing the backend is here to stay. When all companies make their way across the internet, having both a mobile app and a website at your disposal that connects to a standard backend server is becoming imperative.

That’s the need for the hour. To find and nurture a workforce that can code the backend in a manner that assists in the collection of operations and data.

As the world’s most used web development languages, both PHP and Python exist. They are the backbone of every start-up or custom web application business that wants to produce a market splash.

First, however, let’s take a peek at the world of web design.

Web design follows a clear hierarchy that historically tends to be:

Client-Side Coding
Server-Side Coding
Database Technology

Website creation takes place with the use of a programming language, one that can assist in all three of the above without complicating the work and giving dynamic leeway.

As described above, the Dynamic Web application has two facets, client and server-side. The client refers to the computer on which your software is displayed by the user, and the server side is where the program runs and manages and interprets the commands sent by the user.

PHP: All right and tested

PHP comprehension starts with discovering that it accidentally came into being. It began as a simple structure that would assist a person to track online views on his CV.

Initially a personal home page tool, PHP exponentially evolved to become a structure that could be used to build interactive web applications at the entry level and then released to the public.

Since PHP was open source it expanded and oh boy did it expand. During its expansion, two big items were seen.

OIt originated from a series of scripts, so cookies, specified functions and the ability to interact with almost any common database had built-in support (MySQL, DBM). For someone even remotely acquainted with C or Perl being able to make the move, there was also the ease of use connected to it.
The PHP-associated community was eager and motivated. In a way that was not easy to manage, it forced the language to expand. Without testing enough to establish defects in the design, new features were added.

This did not slow down the growth of PHP and over 80 percent of websites on the market are powered by PHP even at this very specific moment.

This is not because it’s all so awesome, but because there are a lot of PHP programmers out there. Since it is an open-source language, it is easier to learn and find answers to your problems. Literally, locating a PHP developer is one of the simplest things that you can do.

But there’s a flip-side to this, too. In which you are condemned if you get stuck with a less than professional designer by any chance. If you take into account how flexible PHP is as a language, you will also understand that there are 30 ways to get to the same conclusion, but you will end up with a code that is very difficult to translate if you do not know the most successful ways to get there.

In the absence of carefully testing a chosen library, security problems often occur.

And what’s Python?

In reality, Python came into existence with the aid of using the basic principles of another programming language that was simultaneously developed, i.e. ABC. ABC.

However, Python has emerged as one of the most elegant, thought-through and well-designed languages on the block. With its ability to have both versatility and high performance, it stands out.

Python from the get-go had the distinction of being a full-stack programming language, unlike how PHP came into existence. But this was not correlated with the internet, which in turn contributed to it not being the web programming language that was most used. Currently, Python is used by only about 3% of all websites on the internet.

A Compare

But why would this be the case? Although Python clearly has a technological advantage over it in almost every aspect, why is PHP more popular? I almost say that because the reality is that PHP dominates the market.

Comprehension

It’s just a lot easier to pick it up because Python is a general programming language. To help them enter the world of programming, it is considered one of the leading languages to be taught to beginners. Python programs, as they are short and the syntax is highly readable, are easy to write.

PHP originated as something entirely different and it has caveats that need to be understood before adopting the language in stand-alone programs because of its roots as a web-only language.

Takeaway: If you are a novice, it’s probably a better idea to focus on learning Python. PHP started as a software that was perfect for private sites, but it has become more and more complicated with its rapid rise in popularity. So, Python wins by a wide margin here.

The Community

This is a vital feature of any programming language, it’s nice to help you out when you get stuck in issues with a large group backing the whole program. They are really similar to both Python and PHP here. When Google wanted to use it for applications such as YouTube, PHP had its community to take mostly for its development and Python gained popularity. And immensely popular web apps such as Pinterest and Instagram have a backend based on a python. However, Facebook uses PHP, the world’s most popular social networking platform.

Takeaway: They are on the same level, more or less.

Documentation Inside

Since both languages have been around for a long time, they are both privy to detailed documentation. Only take a look at their group pages and they will figure you out more or less.

Takeaway: Rivalry in the fight is stiff and both of them are almost neck to neck.

Pricing, Pricing

This certainly helps because both of them are open source. Both of them are, without question, widely accessible on the internet.

Takeaway: They are better than most of the languages available out there for paid programming.

Help for Libraries

This is where Python, over the rest, has a slight edge. For all its uses, Python is incredibly complex and offers an exceptionally built library. PHP has Packagist that is decent but does not fit libraries provided by Python, such as TensorFlow, Keras, Theano, etc. What really distinguishes Python is its ability to integrate Machine Learning-Driven Libraries into its web structure.

Takeaway: If you’re an organization looking to add a smarter library equipped with machine learning to your system, Python is your best friend.

Debugging

Both are again caught in a tie as they are both fitted with some pretty nice debugger software. PDB is Python, and PHP has PDB and XDebug support. The debugging tools both provide you with common features such as stacks, breakpoints, mapping of routes, and so on.

Takeaway: We’re more or less caught in a tie, like most of the time.

The first step to recognizing that the programming job is changing is understanding that all languages have their pros and cons website designers for small business. In the case of internet use, PHP might be standard at this specified point of time, but things are changing. Python is a comparatively improved language for programming. But things can get ugly and quick if you’re not comfortable enough when using it.

Understand what is expected of your project and move forward from there.

Author Bio:

James Gary is the Editor of MavenDigital. He’s the developer of more than 20 games with features. Jim, a blogger from MavenDigital, often talks about software design and growth and the future of technology at outlets ranging from Bloomberg TV to Google.He is currently employed in a mobile app development company in dubai.