Before I jump into claiming that one language is better than the other, there is something I need to clarify. Not to turn the PHP vs JavaScript discussion into comparing oranges with apples, I should explain the main JavaScript vs PHP difference. PHP is a programming language for back end development only. JavaScript, in turn, was initially designed as a front end development language, but with the introduction of Node.js in 2009, JavaScript became full stack.
The commonly cited claim “JavaScript is only for front end development, and PHP is for back end” is just not true. Today, the means of JavaScript let you develop the entire app, both client side and server side of it. The question is, which language is more effective for your particular project.
Therefore, the argument when to use PHP vs JavaScript reduces down to the discussion about which language to choose for back end development. And to help you make a weighed decision, I will compare PHP vs JavaScript for web development based on the following criteria:
JavaScript is a lightweight, multi-paradigm, high-level, interpreted or just-in-time-compiled, dynamic programming language. Introduced in 1995 by Brendan Eich, JavaScript is characterized by curly-bracket syntax, first-class functions, and prototype-based object orientation. According to Statista, 69 % of developers worldwide use JavaScript and 5 % more plan to adopt this language. The report shows that it is the most popular programming language in the world as of late 2019.
PHP stands for (Hypertext Preprocessor), and it is an open source scripting language for back end development. Developed in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf, the language received global recognition. According to the W3Tech survey, 79% of all websites use PHP. Among the most popular ones, there are Facebook, Wikipedia, and, of course, WordPress.
JavaScript is characterized by an event-driven, single-threaded, non-blocking I/O execution model. Such a model is ensured by the event loop and Node clustering. The asynchronous nature of Node.js enables it to run through the entire code simultaneously without waiting for some functions to be executed. Thanks to it, JavaScript is the best solution for low latency applications, such as streaming platforms. Node.js is sped up even further by V8 engine, constant server connection, and callback functions.
PHP is characterized by a multi-threaded, blocking I/O execution model. Unlike JavaScript, PHP is synchronous. The second line of code in PHP cannot be executed until the first one is, which makes it much slower than the competitor. While PHP undoubtedly loses in terms of speed, some say that it is more stable than JavaScript. Yet, this advantage is quite ambiguous and not a hundred percent proved.
The reliability and stability of both PHP and JavaScript are open to interpretation. But thanks to the outstanding speed, JavaScript wins a point.
JavaScript can be combined with HTML, XML, and Ajax.
There are tens of great JavaScript frameworks, and one cannot even count them precisely because new ones emerge quite often. The most popular front-end JS technologies are Vue, Angular, and React, but here at KeenEthics we also believe in the bright future for Svelte. The most common server-side framework is Node.js. The choice of the framework may define development speed and cost, performance, and other technical qualities of your future app.
As for the package managers, Node.js comes with NPM (Node Package Manager) preinstalled. NPM greatly facilitates developers’ lives, and it is the largest software registry in the world.
PHP can be combined with HTML only.
Probably the greatest advantage of PHP is the availability of such CMS’s as WordPress or Drupal. These solutions may greatly facilitate and even cheapen web development. PHP can also be extended with any LAMP stack technology and such server solutions as MySQL or PostgreSQl.
There are two package managers for PHP — PEAR and Composer. PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository) is a structured library of open source PHP code. Composer is a dependency management tool for PHP.
Overall, JavaScript offers more opportunities for extensibility, so it wins the point.
JavaScript is cross-platform, and so is PHP. Both PHP and JavaScript are primarily aimed at developing web applications even though both can be used for mobile app development.
The greatest advantage of JavaScript over PHP lies in the fact that JavaScript is a full-stack development language. Most JS vs PHP comparisons emphasize that JavaScript is front end only, but it is simply not true. You can develop an entire web or mobile app with no other technology than JavaScript. The experience of KeenEthics proves it: as a JS-oriented company, we develop custom web and mobile solutions from scratch using only JavaScript.
PHP is a back end development language only. PHP belongs to the LAMP stack, which stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python. To develop a web app with this technology stack, a software engineer needs to know four different syntax systems, as well as HTML and CSS. Switching between languages is neither convenient nor efficient, and it complicates the learning curve badly.
JavaScript development is full-stack development, which is the greatest advantage of it.
According to stackshare.io, the main reasons why developers enjoy working with JavaScript are its universality (“Can be used on front end and back end”), popularity (“It is everywhere”), and extensibility (“there are a lot of great frameworks”).
JavaScript is used by Netflix, LinkedIn, Trello, Uber, Airbnb, Instagram, eBay, NASA, and Medium.
Most JS frameworks are open sourced but not JavaScript itself.
JavaScript is the most popular language on GitHub with over 20% share of pull requests.
Stackshare.io shows that the most beloved advantages of PHP are a large community, open source, and simple deployment.
PHP is used by such companies as Facebook, Lyft, Wikipedia, Slack, Tumblr, and 9 GAG.
PHP code is open sourced, which makes it more flexible and customizable.
On GitHub, PHP takes only the eighth place with about 5 % of pull requests.
Both languages have huge support communities and are favored by large tech giants — both PHP and JavaScript earn a point.
PHP is much simpler to start learning than JavaScript. Setting up a server is as simple as creating a single .php file, writing a few lines of code enclosed with tags, and entering the URL into the browser tab. Also, PHP peculiarities, such as inconsistent functions or return values, are easier to understand and master than the peculiarities of JavaScript and of a certain JS framework.
Setting up JavaScript, namely Node.js for server side is not that complicated, and yet, it is more difficult than with PHP. A beginning JS developer needs to have more knowledge than a beginning PHP developer. However, the effort you put into learning JavaScript totally pays off. Since JavaScript is more universal than PHP, the learning effort brings much more value.
PHP wins a point for learning simplicity, beginning developers will definitely appreciate it.
The syntax of a programming language, in most cases, is just a matter of personal preference. Therefore, neither of the languages can win a point here.
Yet, I will provide a side-by-side comparison of JS and PHP syntax rules in case you are here thinking about which language to learn. Maybe some peculiarities of a certain language will work better with you, and this is how you will make your choice.
These are some of the most basic differences, which you should know about these languages. Check this table and this article for some more syntax differences between PHP and JavaScript.
As I said, neither language wins a point here because the syntax is a matter of personal preference.
JavaScript has dedicated server hosting, which makes it perfectly suitable for large projects. It can be used to develop both front end and back end of almost any software application type, including 3D games, AR/VR solutions, IoT products, and so on.
Although PHP is a general-purpose programming language, it is primarily used for developing dynamic web pages. Considering the availability of such PHP-based content management systems as Moodle and WordPress, PHP is the best solution for blogs, learning management systems, and e-commerce websites.
Once again, in terms of the apps it is best suitable for, each language is different but neither better nor worse than the competitor. Both PHP and JavaScript are quite universal, so both get a point.
The fight PHP framework vs JavaScript framework ends with the score 3 to 5 — JavaScript beats PHP. Both languages are fairly good in terms of community support, extensibility, and apps they are suit. JavaScript is certainly more efficient in terms of speed and universality. Meanwhile, it loses to PHP in terms of learning curve even though the syntax, as we concluded, is just a matter of personal preference.
Nonetheless, it does not mean that JavaScript and Node.js in particular are to be used at all times.
Choose Node.js:
Choose PHP:
This article has been originally published at KeenEthics Blog.
Are you interested in how to choose between JavaScript (Node.js) and Python? Check our recent article “NodeJS vs Python”.
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