The world of web development is changing rapidly. Every day there are new frameworks and tools emerging in the market. However, there are two open-source backend technologies that are very popular for server-side scripting, PHP and Node.js.
What Is PHP?
Created in 1984, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a proficient scripting language that allows users to create seamless web applications. Along with server-side scripting, it can also be used as a general-purpose programming language for creating server-executable web services based on MVC architecture.
PHP can be easily embedded in HTML. It is an open-source language that supports networking protocols such as HTTP, HTTP Basic, and FTP. It is one of the most commonly used scripting languages in the world and works with major operating systems such as Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Advantages / Pros of PHP
#1 Very easy to learn
PHP is very easy to learn and can be easily integrated into HTML or HTML5 code. It is an open-source framework and has a very gentle learning curve.
PHP has a simple syntax and is very flexible. Furthermore, there are a lot of online tutorials that beginners can use to code basic applications. Lastly, PHP’s library and frameworks are extensive and cover a lot of functionality. Many PHP development companies use them to develop dynamic web applications.
Huge online community
PHP has a large online community that answers questions and solves simple issues for programmers. They also share ideas and bug fixes, which are then released in the upcoming versions. Because of this, PHP has been quite stable for the last few years.
#2 Speed
PHP applications have a fast loading rate. They can also be loaded over slow internet connections. This improves the website’s UX and SEO.
You can also use caching systems such as APC or OPcache to further increase its speed.
#3 Platforms
PHP applications are platform-independent and can run on different platforms, such as Linux, Windows, and macOS. They are also compatible with cloud servicing solutions such as AWS.
#4 Database integration
PHP applications can connect to a host of different databases such as Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
Disadvantages of PHP
Even though PHP is an amazing scripting language, it has a few cons too. Let’s have a look at them.
#1 Insecure
Even though the PHP community releases patches and fixes for security vulnerabilities, this open-source framework has been termed inherently insecure in the past due to its low barrier of entry and default configuration settings. Its ASCII text files are also readily available to other users.
#2 Performance issues
Using multiple PHP features can cause performance issues in web applications. This issue is often seen when PHP-based applications handle large amounts of data or traffic.
In addition, bad code integration techniques and coding layouts can also cause performance issues in PHP-based applications.
#3 Debugging
PHP doesn’t have many debugging options, making it difficult to find and fix errors in the code.
#4 Core behaviors
It’s difficult to modify core behavior in PHP. To do that, users need to rewrite the application’s core components and recompile them.
What Companies Use PHP?
As mentioned above, PHP is a very popular language and is used by industries around the world. For example, social networking websites such as Facebook, Yahoo, and Tumblr use it for their backend. PHP is also used by messaging applications such as Slack and Tagged.
A host of other companies, such as Etsy, Wikipedia, iStock, Baidu, and Mailchimp, also use PHP for their server-side scripting.
What Tools Integrate With PHP?
There are many tools that PHP developers use to simplify development and increase flexibility. Let’s have a look at a few of them.
1. PHP_CodeSniffer
PHP_CodeSniffer is an amazing style checker that checks for issues such as missed indentation, bad naming convention, and comment mismatch. It checks the available code against a set of predefined rules for abnormalities and reports those changes as PHP style violations.
2. PEAR
PEAR is a structure and coding framework for PHP. It improves the distribution of reusable PHP components. This framework can be installed via the PEAR package manager.
3. Zend
Zend is a popular IDE for PHP development. It has many options for code editing, profiling, and debugging. It also allows users to search and index PHP code snippets.
4. Cloud 9
This is a cloud-based IDE for PHP development. Its preconfigured development environment has many options for collaborative coding/pair programming. Users can also use it to track real-time inputs.
What Is Node.js?
Node.js is a command line, a JavaScript-based runtime environment that allows developers to build scalable applications. This framework allows developers to create real-time applications for platforms such as Linux and Windows.
Node.js uses an event-driven I/O model for handling large amounts of data. Its built-in functions are non-blocking, i.e., they are asynchronous to each other.
This open-source framework works on the Google V8 JavaScript engine and uses single-threaded programming. It can generate dynamic pages and allow developers to run server-side JavaScript.
Node.js has a very active online community that provides the necessary dependencies and generators for its users. Node.js development companies need to install Node Package Manager (NPM) along with other tools such as Visual Studio and database connectors.
Advantages of Node.js
Node.js has many advantages.
#1 Asynchronous processing of requests
Node.js runs JavaScript on a single thread, which allows it to complete requests in a non-blocking manner. It also uses a fast V8 engine to handle requests concurrently. This enables Node.js applications to be highly performant.
Node.js also uses caching to improve performance and reduce the re-execution of code.
#2 Microservices
Node.js is a lightweight technology which makes it ideal for running microservices. Microservices applications are highly flexible, as each component can be executed and modified independently of the other.
#3 Rich ecosystem
Node.js has a very rich ecosystem of more than 1 million packages that can be installed through NPM. It also offers community support and extensive documentation for novice developers. Furthermore, its learning curve is very gentle.
#4 Full-stack development
Since Node.js uses JavaScript for both the server and client side, you can use it for frontend and backend development. In such a sense, Node.js has the potential to be a full-stack development framework.
#5 Extensible using JSON
Node.js applications can use JSON to exchange data between the client and the server. You can also use its built-in API for creating applications with different communication protocols such as HTTP, DNS, and TCP.
Disadvantages of Node.js
Even though Node.js is an extensible and flexible development framework with a lot of pros, it has a few cons too.
#1 Debugging
Ask any experienced JavaScript developer, and they’ll tell you debugging JavaScript code is difficult. If you’re working on a Node.js application, you will feel the need to integrate your application with testing frameworks for easier debugging.
#2 Callback hell
Due to its asynchronous nature, there is a callback in the application every time a task gets completed. Sometimes callbacks can get nested with other callbacks, which can lead to a situation called callback hell. This has an adverse effect on performance and can cause memory issues.
#3 Code maintenance
Programming models with asynchronous models can be more difficult to maintain than linear blocking I/O models.
What Companies Use Node.js?
Node.js is a versatile environment that is used by different businesses around the world. It is used by financial businesses such as Paypal and Citibank. E-commerce platforms such as eBay and Walmart also use it for their backend.
This framework is also used by other organizations such as Linkedin, Twitter, NASA, Trello, Mozilla, and Uber.
What Tools Integrate With Node.js?
#1 Webpack
This is a module bundler used by Node.js developers to simplify frontend development. This tool reduces the application’s loading time by running multiple bundles at once. This allows assets to run asynchronously at runtime.
#2 Electrode.io
A tool by Walmart Labs, it lets users develop Node.js applications in a structured manner. It can be installed via NPM and enables developers to build complex features from core code.
#3 Babel
This is a JavaScript compiler that lets users compile ECMA scripts.
#4 Socket.io
Socket.io is a framework for establishing real-time bidirectional communication. This communication is event-based and includes added features such as analytics, counters, and charts.
Node.js vs. PHP: Key Differences
Let’s look at the specific properties of both frameworks and see how they differ from each other.
#1 Performance
Node.js V8 engine and its asynchronous nature allow it to execute code quickly and run features on UI. It is also non-blocking in nature, which enables tasks to run concurrently, meaning new requests are not blocked while the older one runs.
PHP is inherently slower than Node.js in terms of performance due to its synchronous nature. This means new requests have to wait for old ones to be fully complete before running. This slows down the speed of task execution.
#2 Development
Developers working on PHP applications also require extensive knowledge of other technologies such as LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) and frontend technologies (HTML and CSS).
In contrast, since JavaScript is a client and server-side scripting language, you can use Node.js for creating the front and back end of the application. This simplifies the development process and reduces slow output issues.
#3 Database
Both PHP and Node.js can be connected to a host of databases for development. However, with PHP, NoSQL, and non-relational database integration are not very popular since they can be slow and cumbersome. In contrast, Node.js works seamlessly with NoSQL and non-relational databases.
Furthermore, PHP cannot integrate graph databases. However, Node.js can work with graph-based databases.
#4 Request handling
As mentioned above. PHP only processes one request at a time. This means that applications developed over PHP are CPU intensive and require more resources.
Node.js is asynchronous, which means it can process multiple processes at a single point in time. This also means applications use less CPU time and RAM for execution.
#5 Hosting
PHP is one of the most used server-side languages in the world. A huge majority of the websites hosted on the internet use PHP. It is compatible with all major hosting providers and can be hosted from anywhere due to its LAMP stack.
Node.js also has hosting options available such as Joyent, Nodejitsu, and Heroku. But they are limited compared to PHP.
6# Package installation
With PHP, developers have to add and install individual packages. However, with Node.js, you can use NPM to install packages directly.
PHP vs NodeJS
| PHP | Node.js | |
| Creation Year | 1995 (source) | 2009 (source) |
| Creator | Rasmus Lerdorf | Ryan Dahl |
| Documentation | PHP Docs | Node.js Docs |
| Language Type | Interpreted Language | Interpreted Language (via V8 engine) |
| Typing | Dynamically Typed | Dynamically Typed |
| Popularity | Stable, decreasing trend (source) | Stable, increasing trend (source) |
| Applications | Web development, Server-side scripting, Command line scripting | Web development, Real-time applications, Backend and servers for client applications |
| Performance | Generally slower due to synchronous nature | Faster due to non-blocking (asynchronous) nature |
| Stability | Mature and Stable | Stable but less mature than PHP |
| Learning Curve | Moderate (Straightforward syntax, familiar to C programmers) | Moderate to High (Due to asynchronous programming, event-driven architecture) |
| Documentation | PHP Documentation | Node.js Documentation |
| Community Support | High popularity, multiple resources, PHP community, Stack Overflow | High popularity, multiple resources, Node.js community, Stack Overflow |
| Development Time | Can be high for complex applications | Generally faster due to non-blocking nature |
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| Key Disadvantages |
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| Famous Companies | Facebook, WordPress, MailChimp | LinkedIn, Uber, Netflix |
| Cross-Platform Support | Excellent, as it’s interpreted on the server-side | Excellent, can run on any platform that can compile and run JavaScript |
| TIOBE Rating | 8 as of September 2021 | Not Rated as it’s a runtime environment, not a language |
| Average Salary | USD $84,000 | USD $105,000 |
What Does the Future Look Like?
It is impossible to pick a framework without acknowledging the full extent of its current and future functionalities.
PHP’s latest release is called 8.2.0, and it was released in December 2022. In this release, issues with request methods and environment variables are fixed.
The community has also fixed the bugs related to null pointer exceptions, coalesce triggers, and multiline function calls. The next release name is 8.3, which will have fixes for date/time exceptions, trait constants, and enum fetch properties.
Node.js’ latest release is called Node.js 18, which was released in October 2022. This release has updates for ECMA scripts and DNS resolution. It also supports JSON assertions and leverages prefix-only core modules.
The next release for Node.js is Node.js 19, which is scheduled to release in April 2023. It will have features such as Watch node and default true KeepAlive.
Node.js vs. PHP: Who Wins?
As mentioned above, it’s not feasible to claim one technology is better than another before understanding the use cases. Both PHP and Node.js are advanced frameworks that have huge community support and a variety of exciting features. However, a decision regarding the scripting language should be made to match your business requirements.
You should use Node.js if you want to create an efficient web application that is capable of handling multiple callbacks between the server and the client. Furthermore, if you want your application to focus on performance and use real-time data, Node.js is the way to go.
PHP should be used when there are no frequent callback requirements and the architecture is simple. If your server is centralized and you don’t need to scale your servers, PHP is the way to go.
If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out our other PHP articles.
