PHP Vs. Python: Key Difference Between Them
Anna Blake
What is Python?
Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language. It has built-in data structures, combined with dynamic typing & binding, which makes it an ideal choice for rapid application development. Python also offers support for modules and packages, which allows system modularity and code reuse.
It is one of the fastest programming languages as it requires very few lines of code. Its emphasis is on readability and simplicity, which makes it a great choice for beginners.
What is PHP?
PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor. It is a server-side scripting language. It is used to develop a dynamic website or web application. PHP can easily integrate with all major web servers on all major operating systems.
PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient option to competitors such as Microsoft’s ASP. Non-technical users can easily learn a few useful tricks to make their web pages easier to manage and more useful.
KEY DIFFERENCE
- Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language used for rapid application development, whereas PHP stands for Hypertext pre-processor used to develop a dynamic website or web application.
- Python is widely used in AI, data science, and the scientific community, whereas PHP is the language of choice for web development.
- Python has a small number of frameworks, whereas PHP has many frameworks.
- Comparing Python Vs. PHP for web development, Python offers a very clear and concise syntax of codes, whereas PHP has a wide range of naming conventions and syntax.
- Key features of Python are Rapid development, Dynamic typing, and beautiful code, whereas Key features of PHP are Open source, Easy Deployment, Continual Improvements.
Why Python?
Here are certain reasons why you should select Python:
- Compared with the code of other languages, Python code is easy to write and debug. Therefore, its source code is relatively easy to maintain.
- Python is a portable language, so it can run on a wide variety of operating systems and platforms.
- Comparing Python vs. PHP web development, Python comes with many prebuilt libraries, making your development task easy.
- Python helps you to make complex programming simpler. As it internally deals with memory addresses, garbage collection.
- Python provides an interactive shell that helps you to test things before it’s the actual implementation.
- Python offers database interfaces to all major commercial DBMS systems.
- Python supports GUI applications and has as a framework for the Web. Example: tkmter, WXPython, Django.
Why PHP?
Here are prime reasons why you should select PHP:
- PHP runs on various platforms like Windows, Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, etc.
- PHP is compatible with almost all Apaches, IIS servers
- PHP is easy to learn which runs efficiently on the server-side
- PHP is free to download from its official website www.php.net
History of Python
- Python was first conceived in the late 1980s, but its implementation started only in December 1989
- It was invented in the Netherlands by Guido van Rossum
- Rossum published the first version of Python (0.9.0) in February 1991
- It was derived from the ABC programming language, which is a general-purpose programming language
- Nowadays, Python is maintained by a core development team, although Rossum still plays a vital role in directing its progress
History of PHP
- PHP was started as a Perl hack in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf
- It was rewritten again in 1997 and released as PHP2.0 with a new passer engine by Zeev Suraski and Gutmans.
- PHP 2 transformed the language into a Server-side scripting language.
- PHP 3 (1998) added support for ODBC(Open Database Connectivity) multiple platform support and email protocols are added
- PHP version 4, which was released in the year 2000, has become an independent component of the webserver for added efficiency.
- PHP 5, which was released in the year 2004, adds Zend Engine II with object-oriented programming, robust XML support.
Python vs. PHP
Following is the main difference between PHP and Python:
| Parameter | Python | PHP |
|---|---|---|
| Frameworks | Python has a smaller number of frameworks | PHP users have access to mature frameworks. |
| Popularity | Widely used in AI, data science, and the scientific community | Language of choice for web development |
| Database Connectivity | Does not support database connectivity as broadly as PHP | It is possible to access more than 20 different databases. |
| Community Support | Currently growing at a fast pace. | Wider community support. |
| Learning curve | Python is better in long-term projects. | PHP has a very low learning curve, and it is straightforward to get started with. |
| Readability | Python uses indentation enforcements that are quite strict. This makes it more readable than PHP. | PHP language is highly documented and follows a classic approach |
| Type of language | General-purpose programming language | Specialized language for Web development programming. |
| Syntax | A very clear and concise syntax of codes | The built-in library has a wide range of naming conventions |
| A famous company using this technology | Uber, Pinterest, Mozilla | Hootsuite, Viber, Appcelerator |
| Git hub stars | 30.4 K | 30 K |
| Fork | 8.23 K | 8.04 K |
| TIOBE rating | 4th position | 7th position |
| Key Features | Rapid development, Dynamic typing, and beautiful code. | Open source, Easy Deployment, Continual Improvements. |
| Best frameworks | Flask, Django, jam.py. | Slim, Laravel, Fast-free framework. |
| Salaries | The average salary for a professional Python Developer is $120,024 per year in the United States. | The avg salary for a PHP Developer is $86,017 per year in the United States. |
Features of Python
- Easy to learn, read and maintain
- It can run on various hardware platforms & using the same interface.
- You can include low-level modules in the Python interpreter.
- Python offers an ideal structure and support for large programs.
- Python offers support for automatic garbage collection.
- It supports an interactive mode of testing and debugging.
- It offers high-level dynamic data types and also supports dynamic type checking.
- Python language can be integrated with Java, C, and C++ programming code.
Features of PHP
- Database Integration Supports many databases, such as Oracle, MySQL, etc.
- It is easy to use compared to other scripting languages
- It is faster than another scripting language, e.g., ASP and JSP
- Open source means you don’t need to pay for using PHP; you can freely download and use it
- PHP has some predefined error reporting constants to generate an error notice or warning
- PHP offers access logging by creating a summary of recent accesses of the user.
What is better?
Even after comparing the difference between Python and PHP, selecting PHP or Python is an undoubtedly difficult task because PHP and Python both are good in their own ways. Python is the gateway to machine learning codes. On the other side, PHP is used for server-side scripting and web development.
