For a lot of aspiring programmers and developers, it may not be easy choosing the best programming language to learn. Depending on the types of languages, sometimes it can be hard to figure out the best one to get started. But in the case of PHP and Python, it is pretty easy to decide while we look at the pros and cons of both languages.
Python vs PHP
Python is considered one of the fastest programming languages as it requires fewer lines of code. It is a high-level object-oriented programming language developed by Guido Van Rossum in 1990. It supports different packages and modules for the development environment.
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) developed in 1995, is used to create dynamic HTML content over the web. It is a server-side scripting language. There is no limitation in the operating system while integrating with web servers. PHP can be download free form its official website www.php.net.
Python has less line of code with rapid deployment features which enables easy to maintain compared to PHP. PHP has one of the highest documentation for following the classic approach whereas python uses indentation enforcements while coding which makes users view and read the codes easily.
Both programming languages have their own best frameworks. For Python, Flask, Django, and Jam.py are the best frameworks present to this date whereas Yii, Codeigniter, Slim, Fast free, Laravel are the popular PHP frameworks. Compare to PHP, Python has less number of the framework as PHP is the widely-used programming language for web development. Python recently gained popularity due to the rise of the Data industry.
Python and PHP developers Salary
There are good demands of Python and PHP developers around the world. Depending upon the location, the demand for types of language may vary but both can be considered a good-paying job.
The salary of developers working in these fields varies. According to Glassdoor data, In the USA, the average salary of a professional Python Developer is $76,526 per year whereas the average salary for the PHP developer is $80,849 per year.
Companies using Python
Popular companies using Python as a programming language – Instagram, Google, Spotify, Netflix, Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest, etc.
Companies using PHP
Popular companies using PHP programming language – Wikipedia, Tumblr, MailChimp, Slack, DailyMotion, Etsy, Cloudflare, etc.
Advantages of Python and PHP
Both languages have their own features that separate them in their own field. Python provides support for automatic garbage collection with the support of large programs as well as it can integrate with Java, C, and C++ programming code. It runs with the same interface even with different hardware configurations.
PHP has the support for integrating different databases including MySQL, Oracle, etc. the main reason people are inclined to use PHP is it provides faster action than other scripting languages like ASP, JSP.
Python is mostly used in Machine learning, data science, automation, artificial intelligence programming whereas PHP is mostly used for web development. The syntax use in python is easier to remember and almost similar to the human language which enables the developer to develop different programs faster and easier way. PHP has a wide range of naming conventions, which may sometime confuse the developer.
Disadvantages of Python and PHP
PHP programs may have security issues as it’s an open-source and people can access the source code to find the bugs which can be letter use to explore the weakness of PHP. PHP is also not modular and may be unfit for the large application development.
Python is not good for Mobile development as well as consumes more memory for intensive tasks due to flexibility of data types. Python also has limited support for database access due to which the database layer of python some time feel underdeveloped. One of the problems with python is it provides runtime error as the language is dynamically typed, more testing should be conducted and has errors that only show at the runtime only.
PHP needs several debugging tools but in Python, only a few debugging tools are required as PDB 27.3. In the regular cases, the debugging tools in the downloader package are enough for the Python codes debugging processes. Even though PHP has a short learning curve, Python provides more productivity than PHP in the long-term bases.
Design
In terms of design, python is well-designed robust language whereas PHP seems not so well thought out. Codes are easier to write in Python language.
Python was designed as a general-purpose language whereas PHP was designed as a web development language. In the context of the libraries both of these programming languages feature some of the best libraries but Python has a commanding and united standard library which shows much better libraries support than PHP.
Conclusion
The selection of the best programming language for the developer depends on the nature of the projects, however, in some cases, Python may have advantages over PHP. If the project is related to machine learning, Python is the way to go and if the project includes server-side scripts and web development, PHP is one of the best choices.
Both languages offer many learning opportunities and solutions depending upon the project, this is why best tech companies in the world are not using single programming languages.