If there is a language that will win the debate of which is the most reliable server-side scripting language, it is PHP. PHP is a scripting language that is used for general-purpose development.
Since its development in 1994, it has evolved to be the best language for web development. Even today when there are so many frameworks for website and web app development most web developers want to learn PHP because of its features and stability.
Read More:- What are the fastest framework for web development?
As it is a veteran language, it has some of the strongest features, and because it has also kept up with the trends it has new features as well. This is still the first choice of many web development companies and full-stack development services when it comes to the development of the server side.
This language was developed by Danish-Canadian developer Rasmus Lerdorf. The main language that is used for its implementation is C language and developers also sometimes use components of C++. The last stable release came on 9th June 2020.
Originally the developer of this language called it the “Personal Home Page” language but just as its features and components the meaning of the name also evolved.
Finally, it is now called the Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) Language. Users can compare it with JavaScript but it can only interpret scripts that are written for the server side.
This is a language that provided great features to customize the interface for each user and add great functionality, but they could not do it with HTML.
Scripting languages are used to interpret the codes and not compile them, and this has a specific part in web development. PHP is a language that has always lived up to the expectation of all web development companies.
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What Problems Does PHP Solve?
There are many limitations in HTML due to which it cannot be used with several web development processes. It does not allow user interaction unlike that PHP.
With the arrival of PHP, many improvements have occurred in the world of website development. PHP allows for interactive features that make a web page dynamic and way more attractive.
PHP is a dynamic server scripting language that can be used in retrieving values that are eventually used in the front end.
In the earlier days, PHP only came into use for hit counters and guest books, but now it is used while creating forums, web forms, shopping carts, and all the other areas that require a two-way interaction with the visitors or in full-stack development services.
What are the Advantages Of PHP
Developers have a wide range of scripting languages to choose from, such as CGI, ASP, JSP, and Perl. But most of them tend to opt for PHP due to a large number of advantageous functionalities it offers.
To hire PHP developers one must be aware of his/her compatibility with the benefits of PHP so that they can get the best out of it. Some of them have been listed below:
- Flexible
- Easy Integration And Compatibility
- Performance
- Cost-Efficient
- More Power To Developers
1. Flexible
PHP is a highly flexible language. This means it can be transformed anytime during the project. It saves the time of the developer and also reduces the need for writing fresh codes or command functions every time during modification.
2. Easy Integration And Compatibility
PHP can be integrated with a large number of operating systems. It runs on various platforms such as Unix, Linux, and Solaris. Also, it can be integrated with other existing technologies such as Java in the process of software or website development.
3. Performance
PHP development company delivers efficient performance in web development services. Though it depends on the web developer how he/she codes the program, other than that, PHP helps a lot in the creation of more efficient and effective code.
It is highly scalable due to which it is used by most developers to create large applications as well as web pages.
4. Cost-Efficient
PHP is an open-source language. Hence, it is available for free for those who want to learn and implement PHP in their programs. There is no cost involved during the process of purchasing, updating, or renewing the software.
Also, there are no issues with licensing as it is open-source software. Additionally, PHP development services can work with different databases including MySQL, Apache, as well as PostgreSQL.
The total cost of website development through PHP is very less compared to other languages.
5. More Power To Developers
When PHP is compared to other programming languages, it can be seen that PHP allows more control to the web developer. PHP only requires a few lines of code that can be added or mixed with other HTML tags, making the website extremely creative and dynamic.
Additionally, developers also don’t need to worry about placing codes in the right place as the whole code is written between tags.
Therefore the functions, as well as the lines of code, do not require any specific order.
The PHP developer’s community is highly active and widespread around the world, making it easier for developers to share and understand various problems. It also makes it easier for recruiters to hire PHP developers.
Why Is PHP Considered As A Strong Server-Side Scripting Language?
PHP is indeed considered one of the most powerful server-side scripting languages and there are many reasons for it. One of the main reasons is that it is really easy to understand and learn.
People who know HTML can easily pick it up and start writing codes in it within a short amount of time. The language is easy enough for a person who is just starting to learn to program to pick it up and learn it.
Since it is an open-source scripting language many people are there for support.
- Easy to understand
- It can easily integrate databases
- PHP as the most productive language
- Good development experience
1. Easy to understand
One more strength is that users who learn either PHP or HTML can learn and write codes in both these languages. It becomes really easy to interchange between the two. The language is also flexible as it is dynamic.
There are no strict rules on how programmers need to develop the features and that is why developers have the power to innovate the features based on their wishes and imagination.
Not just features, the flexible nature allows users to use a wide range of data types that are available specifically for this language.
2. It can easily integrate databases
Another important part is the level at which it can integrate databases like Oracle, MS SQL Server, and Postgres. It is really easy to develop the programs with a good database back-end so that the applications have a really strong server side.
One of the powers that people don’t generally realize is that because of all the benefits and it is ease to learn, there are many skilled PHP developers available.
This makes it easy for all web development companies to find good employees who can provide great value to the websites.
3. PHP as a most productive language
Some surveys have shown that programmers who use PHP are more productive than other programmers. There are many reasons like it being easy and the features and components that it has.
The programmers are free to develop the website’s server-side as per their thoughts because it is flexible enough. Maybe there is no other language that provides so many features to the programmers and that is this stable.
Even after 26 years of its launch this language is still popular and is going strong with the new web development enthusiasts. There are no PHP developers at this time who won’t want to learn and understand the concepts of PHP.
4. Good development experience
It also provides PHP developers with a streamlined development experience, and this is because it operates at a request level with a full state reset for every individual request. This structure makes debugging the application way easier.
Because of all the strengths mentioned above, there are many web development company that trust PHP as their server-side scripting language.
Many great websites have used this programming language for the same purpose as well.
The developers can easily maintain and modify the server-side with the help of the features and because the written script can be understood anytime.
Problems With PHP
It is not that any PHP development company says PHP is perfect, there are problems with this programming language just like other programming languages.
One of the powers of this language also becomes a problem at times and it is its flexibility. Because this language is flexible and dynamic sometimes it even neglects the errors that might create problems for the website after some time.
Flexibility is a great power but there are no rules that developers know so that they can make error-free programs.
- Finding the error is tricky
- Some packages disturb the quality
- Bit older language
- A slower language
1. Finding the error is tricky
Just think about a scenario where an inexperienced programmer is working on something but because it gives them the freedom to do whatever they want they might end up making it all complex and problematic.
This is something that creates a lot of problems because then to find the errors and remove them the PHP developers need to do a lot of things. This will take time, and might also increase the cost.
This is on the whole something that takes a lot of experience from the developer’s side, and hence, freedom is something that needs to be handled with care.
Just because it is flexible, the PHP developers cannot do whatever they wish to without keeping in mind the future parts of the development.
2. Some packages disturb the quality
Some packages in PHP development services are not good but they got popular in the community and because they allow users to develop faster they are still reused.
PHP Developers make use of them when they have to complete a project with a deadline and there is no other option left and that happens a lot. These packages disturb the quality of the developed program.
There are many such packages and they are just making the programming language vulnerable and weak.
3. Bit older language
Because it is a programming language that was developed more than 20 years ago, some inconsistencies are there in it. The layout and the features might have been innovated and improved but there are some problems in the core of it.
The main inconsistencies are regarding the values and the references. Both of them are very important while developing the server side of a website and hence the PHP developers need to take extra care of these.
There are ways to counter and fix the inconsistency but they take some time, and PHP developers must make sure that they do everything in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
The problem arises because there are many updates and with every update, there are some new features and that sometimes clash with the existing ones. It is important that the ones that are not useful can be removed and the clash can be fixed.
4. A slower language
There is something that also reduces its speed, and it is its type. It is an interpreted language, and this quality makes it slower than other languages.
Even though there were significant improvements in the language after the release of PHP 7, still it is not as fast as other compiled languages. This is something that puts it on the back foot at times.
There are many competitors now and if the developers don’t pay attention to this aspect they might lose their reputation and place in the market. This is the time when everyone wants things that can perform faster.
Scaling a project and maintaining the language is also sometimes complicated. Many languages are better for scaling and need very low maintenance.
Wrapping Up With A Comparison (PHP/JAVA/Python)
There are many developers or tech enthusiasts who compare PHP with JavaScript a lot but a better comparison will be with Python, especially in the case of full-stack services.
The reason for this is that both of them are open-source programming languages with a big community. Both of these languages have been around for a good amount of time, although Python is comparatively new it still has been there for a few years, and now it can be said that it is at its maturity stage.
Both of them are although used for different purposes. Python is used for general programming whereas PHP is mainly for web development. Although there are some problems, it is still one of the best server-side scripting languages with a lot of benefits for web development companies.