PHP vs Python: Which One is Best for Web Development

Choosing the right programming language is very important for any development project. Nowadays, Python and PHP and Python are two popular programming languages that most companies like to use for web development projects.

When comparing the two, choosing one is a bit difficult. Although many websites are developed in PHP, Python has also become very popular in the last few years.

But which programming language is right for your web application – PHP vs Python? In this blog post, we’ll cover the basics of the two languages and then proceed to compare them. So, let’s get started!

It’s no wonder that many coding beginners can’t puzzle over which language to choose – PHP or Python. Both have been among the top ten programming languages for more than a few years.

Since they have been around for a while, they both have a significant user base as well. This can be extremely helpful in the early stages of learning. In this detailed comparison of PHP vs. Python, we’ll explain the similarities and differences between the two.

What is Python?

Python is an open-source programming language that focuses on object-oriented programming concepts. Guido Van Rossum developed this language in 1991. It is currently one of the most widely used languages, providing an easy-to-understand high-level syntax.

According to Stack Overflow Survey 2021, Python is one of the most requested and popular languages. Many companies in the world use Python with their applications. It works as a scripting language for web browsers, so you can use it to develop web applications.

What is PHP?

PHP or Hypertext Pre-processor is a suitable choice of programming language for web developers. It is an open-source server-side scripting language used to create engaging, user-driven web pages. PHP is a real choice of language with some excellent features, plugins, libraries and add-ons to maximize the colossal support and community features.

Rasmus Lerdorf developed PHP or Personal Home Page in 1995. Then it got its new name, PHP-Hypertext Pre-processor. Almost all web browsers support PHP and it’s fantastic for backend web development.

PHP powers almost every website on the web. It is a flexible, pragmatic and fast language that can handle dynamic content in HTML web pages, session tracking and databases.

Syntax Comparison: Python vs. PHP

The biggest difference you’ll notice right away when comparing PHP vs. Python is in their syntax, and here Python actually wins by a large margin.

In 1999, software engineer Tim Peters wrote The Zen of Python – a list of nineteen basic principles for writing programs. Naturally, these have greatly influenced Python, and more than one of them points to simplicity: “Simple is better than complex. The complex is better than the complicated. Flat is better than nested. Thin is better than thick. Readability counts.

There PHP vs Python – the Python trademark should be one – and preferably only one – obvious way to do it.” These principles, key to any universal language, are also evident in Python’s syntax: it is extremely simple, clean and readable. . For this reason, teachers often start programming in schools. Python also has a clear and concise style guide called PEP8.

However, the PHP team never intended a universal programming language. It is a server-side language with the main goal of creating web applications, which are usually much more complex than standalone programs.

In addition, it has been influenced by many other languages (Java, Perl, C, C++, and several others), so there is no single known pattern. The result is a complicated syntax system that is not very suitable for beginners. According to various coding forums and blogs, many programmers find it inconsistent and unpredictable.

Python Properties

Python can run on different hardware platforms using the same user interface.
Easy to read, learn and maintain.
It provides the perfect structure and support for large programs.
Low-level modules can be easily included in the Python interpreter.
Python includes support for automatic garbage collection.
You can integrate Python with C, C++, and Java programming code.
Python provides high-level dynamic data types and support for dynamic type checking.
It helps in interactive testing and debugging mode.

PHP Properties

PHP is easier to use and code than other scripting languages.
It supports various databases like MySQL and Oracle and therefore provides database integration.
PHP allows login access by creating a summary of the most recent user accesses.
Compared to other scripting languages like JSP and ASP, PHP is more efficient.
Contains several predefined error reporting constants that generate warnings or error notifications.
Since PHP is an open-source language, you can download and use it for free.

Advantages and disadvantages of Python

Here are the pros and cons of using the Python programming language for web development:

Advantages of Python

A universal, object-oriented and versatile language for use in various fields
It offers code reuse across platforms
Easy to use, read, learn and maintain
Includes automatic garbage collection
Develops GUI applications
It can be easily integrated with the programming code of other languages such as Java or C++
It has libraries like Tensorflow for mathematically demanding tasks
An open, uniformly evolving language
Highly graphic and makes it amateur friendly
The WORA feature makes it portable

Disadvantages of Python

It is not very useful for developing mobile computers, browsers and mobile applications
It uses a huge amount of memory to provide developers with ease
It works slower than other web development languages
It slows down the testing of web applications
Error detection is difficult due to dynamic typing
Gigantic for a simple and small app or website
Duck-typing causes errors at runtime
A little easier for some specific tasks

Advantages and disadvantages of PHP

Below are the main advantages and disadvantages of using PHP for web development:

Advantages of PHP

Maintains top tuning
It contains a number of Open source and object-oriented plug-in frameworks
It represents a large ecosystem
It provides support for other database interfaces such as No SQL, PostgreSQL and so on
Get support from multiple operating systems and works across platforms
Provides support for database collection modules
Flexible and platform independent
PHP based applications support all operating systems like Windows, Linux and UNIX.
Includes built-in SQL support
Many open-source PHP frameworks are available to use for free

Disadvantages of PHP

Limited and cable performance
You cannot change its basic behavior
It uses poor writing that can lead to incorrect knowledge and data for the user
Not suitable for content-based applications
No IOT alliance
Lack of security protocols and features

When to choose Python?

The Python programming language is becoming increasingly popular these days. Below are some cases where you should opt for Python:

Creating websites using the Django framework
I am looking for in-depth data analysis
And work in fields like robotics and data science

When to choose PHP?

PHP is a popular server-side scripting language among developers. Here are some cases where you can choose PHP:

Less investment
Development of blogs, web applications and websites
Efficient work on the server side

Why Choose Python?

Python boasts many advantages and that is why it is the technology of today. Here’s why you should choose Python for web development:

Python takes the hassle out of coding and automatically handles garbage collection and memory addressing.
Python syntax is quick to understand and easy to debug as well. Therefore, its source code is easier to maintain.
A number of built-in libraries make web development in Python easy.
With the web framework, Python supports GUI applications. For example, Django, WXPython, Tkinter, etc.
Since it is a portable and versatile language, you can run Python on different operating systems or platforms.
Python considers a database-friendly interface that can store large amounts. amount of data for basic commercial DBMS systems.
Python’s interactive shell facilitates unit testing before product implementation.

Why Choose PHP?

Since PHP is a powerful programming language, we have several reasons to choose it:

It’s open-source and free to download
It is a scripting language that runs on various platforms such as Mac OS X, Linux, Windows and UNIX.
PHP is compatible with every server like IIS, Apaches etc.
It is easy to learn and works efficiently on the server side.
PHP supports a wide variety of databases.

PHP vs Python: A detailed comparison

You will get a detailed overview of languages, their functions, advantages and disadvantages. Now here is a comparison of PHP vs Python based on different parameters!

Parameters	Python	PHP
1st Release	1991	1995
Language Type	Specialized for web development	General-purpose programming language
syntax	clear and concise	complex
Learning Curve	Easier	Steep
Security	High	Medium
Database Connectivity	Lesser Support	Hogher Support
Readiability	High	Low
Debugging	Faster	Slower
Community	Currently growing	Strong
Performance	Fast	Faster
Best Frameworks	Flask, Django, Web2Py	Laravel, CodeIgniter, Zend
GitHub Stars	40.9k	31.5k
Forks	20.5k	6.9k
TIOBE Rating	1st Position	9th Position
Notable Users	Youtube, Quora, Instagram, Reddit	Yahoo, Flickr, Facebook, Tubmlr

Detailed comparison of PHP vs Python

A detailed comparison will help you decide which language is best to use, how easy and efficient it is to work with, and give you the best result for your web development efforts.

Let’s start the cold war between PHP and Python!

1. Community support

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

This is where Python closely matches PHP. Since there are many Python developers who are constantly building Python applications, the community support is excellent. So none of them are clear winners here.

2. Flexibility

Web applications using machine learning are in high demand these days. And ML is also a significant point of Python. So Python provides excellent machine learning libraries like Pandas, Tensorflow, Theano and Scikit-learn. These libraries are fast, robust and unique, and most importantly, they can work perfectly with a web framework.

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

3. Ease of use

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

PHP is not a common programming language because it is only used to design dynamic web pages with HTML. This makes PHP less productive than Python. Hence, in terms of ease of use, Python wins over PHP.

4. Speed to market

Python includes a great set of third-party libraries, packages, and modules to get your project done faster. For example, Django is one of the popular web frameworks written in Python. It extends the MVC pattern to allow developers to quickly build applications with a large distribution of interests and reusability.

PHP also boasts a toolkit that includes frameworks and libraries. For example, Laravel is the most famous PHP framework that adopts the MVC pattern and comes with several useful features for web development, such as templating, routing, validation, and so on.

5. Web frameworks

Both PHP and Python provide powerful and well-designed frameworks for web application development. Many large companies use the web frameworks that PHP offers. For example, Symfony and Laravel are mature frameworks and are supported by a large community. This makes PHP easy to develop the web.

Python also provides many outstanding frameworks. The two most famous Python-based web frameworks are Flask and Django. They are highly scalable, fast, easy to use and secure. Developers usually prefer Django over PHP-based frameworks to enjoy easy setup and shorter development time.

6. Library management

Python uses Pip to work with packages. Pip ensures that developing Python applications is fast, easy and meets all development needs.

PHP library management is less efficient than Python. Python has a wider assortment of packages and handy tools to make web application development easier. So Python is the clear winner here.

7. Security

From a security perspective, Python is the preferred option for businesses. For example, Django boasts many out-of-the-box security features that help protect applications from various security threats. In addition, various government entities also depend on Python as their secret hacking tool.

Although its robust community support has resolved most security issues, PHP is less robust than Python in terms of security. Therefore, Python wins over PHP at this point.

8. Environmental management

Python was the best programming language when it came to working with environments. Its Virtualenv system helps to install different versions of the language and move between them instantly.

PHP cannot compete with Python in this regard. VirtPHP, an analog for PHP, exists but is archived and not fully maintained. That’s why developers like to use containers with PHP. So Python is the clear winner here.

9. Ease of learning

Python is undoubtedly easier to learn. You can master this universal programming language very quickly. It is easy to choose a programming course for beginners. Python programs are shorter and easy to write compared to other languages.

On the other hand, PHP is built for sophisticated web applications, as opposed to stand-alone simple programs. It is not a universal language at all. So it takes more time to learn PHP as compared to Python.

10. Debugging

PDB or Python Debugger is Python’s built-in debugger. It uses many debugging strategies. PDB offers dynamic typing and allows developers to work effortlessly without declaring things right at the beginning of the program.

PHP also provides the XDebug package for debugging and checking code errors for developers. However, PHP development is significantly slower in detecting and fixing errors. Therefore, it has many security problems.

PHP vs Python: before you go

Choosing between PHP vs Python is not an easy task. While it’s true that Python is growing at a rapid pace and tons of new projects are written every year, PHP doesn’t seem to be going anywhere either. Many huge projects that are already popular (eg WordPress) are based on PHP. There is no doubt that they will continue to need support in the coming years.

According to Glassdoor.com, PHP also has a slight advantage in terms of salary: a PHP developer earns an average annual salary of $93,987, while Python developers earn an average of $85,502. Both of these amounts are higher than the average developer salary of $80,394 per year.

Final thoughts

Although both PHP and Python work great in web development, Python wins over PHP on many points. But that doesn’t mean you have to choose Python and neglect PHP. Both PHP and Python are excellent programming languages for web development.

In the end, it largely depends on the needs of your project, as well as your skills, knowledge and expertise in PHP or Python when building web applications.

Whichever option you end up choosing, we hope you find our comprehensive PHP vs Python helped by providing some useful arguments. And remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to just one language – the more you know, the more you can do.

PHP vs Python FAQ

Can I use Python instead of PHP?

There are many reasons to prefer Python over PHP for developing modern web applications such as flexibility, security, high performance, ease of use, simple syntax, etc.

What is Python most commonly used for?

A universal programming language, Python has a wider range of uses, including web development, AI, ML, big data, mobile app development, game development, etc.

Which is more secure Python or PHP?

When it comes to security, Python is the preferred choice for businesses. It has many security features for developing complex applications. Where PHP has had a terrible history when it comes to security.

Also, Read This: