Updated May 10, 2023
Difference Between PHP vs JavaScript
When used with HTML documents, JavaScript is a dynamic programming language that makes it possible for dynamic interactions. It is a simple language that can be interpreted or JIT-compiled and provides first-class operations. PHP is an alternative to Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP) technology. PHP stands for Hypertext pre-processor, and it is a server-end scripting platform. The primary goal of PHP design is to allow web developers to build dynamically executed web pages.
JavaScript
Brenden Eich invented the JavaScript language. In the years since its introduction, it has not only supplanted a variety of other competing languages and technologies to become the standard for browser-based programming, but it has also expanded beyond the client space to become a dominant language on the server side as well.
What can JavaScript be used for?
- The HyperText Transport Protocol, or HTTP, was created to send HTML text over a network for reading. However, HTML is entirely static, providing no capabilities to implement logic.
- Basic features we currently take for granted, such as input validation, autocorrect, progress bars, or causing a graphic to change during a mouse rollover, would be impossible for a browser to perform without some scripting capability. As a result, when the web first rose to prominence, every vendor in that space provided some mechanism to make HTML web pages more interactive.
PHP
PHP was first created as a simple scripting platform called “Personal Home Page.” Many PHP syntax is lent from other languages naming C, Java, and Perl. However, PHP has several unique features and specific functions as well. The goal of the language is to allow Web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly and easily. PHP is also great for creating database-driven Web sites.
Head to Head Comparison Between PHP vs JavaScript (Infographics)
Below is the top 4 difference between PHP vs JavaScript.
PHP vs JavaScript
Some similarities are given below:
- Interpretation: PHP and JavaScript are both scripting languages that are interpreted, and their scripts are executed within their own runtime environments.
- Omnipresent: Together, both PHP and JavaScript power a majority of websites. They were like peanut butter and jelly—JavaScript on the front end, PHP on the back end for most of their existence. That means there is a huge codebase of libraries, frameworks, and community support for PHP vs JavaScript languages together as a package deal. Think of an idea or a question, and, likely, somebody somewhere has already developed a solution.
Key Difference Between PHP vs JavaScript
Both are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the significant differences between PHP and JavaScript:
- Availability: The main difference between PHP and JavaScript is who owns and can change the language. PHP is entirely open-source, which means the Internet community owns it.
- This is beneficial for people using PHP, as there’s plenty of support provided by ordinary users. Arguably, this makes it the more flexible and the more usable of the two languages.
- Simplicity: PHP is conceptually much simpler to use than Node.js. When setting up a server, all you need is a “.php” file with some code wrapped between the <?php ?> tags, enter the URL into your browser, and you’re done. The statement you cover between those tags can be as simple as <?php echo ‘Hello World’; ?>, and it will work. Behind the scenes, a web server like MySQL with PHP installed will be able to interpret the file and display your web page in your browser. While not difficult, setting up a Node.js server usually requires more lines of code and a basic understanding of how closures and call-back functions work.
- Rebuilding and Customizing: Rebuilding and customization are two fundamentals that make a language terrible or great. The edge for this goes to PHP. It’s a slightly more straightforward language, and the open-source nature of it gives users more choice in what they can do with that language.
- Concurrency: PHP, like most server-side languages, uses multi-threaded, blocking I/O to carry out multiple tasks in parallel. JavaScript is unique in using a few tricks (event loop + node clustering) to achieve an event-driven, non-blocking I/O execution model that uses a single main thread of execution. PHP has been around the block for a while, though, and has found its way to achieve asynchronous processing.
- JSON: JSON “JavaScript Object Notation” is a lightweight data format syntactically similar to JavaScript object definitions. Naturally, that gives Node.js and JavaScript-based technologies an edge when dealing with JSON; while PHP can work with JSON, it’s more situational.
Instances
Following are some instances of PHP and Javascript:
Instances of PHP:
- CMSs like Word Press, Drupal, Joomla, etc.
- Servers like MySQL, SQL, MariaDB, Oracle, Sybase, Postgresql, etc.
- Solution Stacks like a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP).
Instances of JavaScript:
- Front-end technologies like jQuery, AngularJS, Backbone.js, Ember.js, ReactJS, etc.
- Server-side technologies like Node.js, MongoDB, Express.js, etc.
PHP vs JavaScript Comparison Table
Given below is the PHP vs JavaScript comparison table:
| Basis of Comparison | PHP | JavaScript |
| Execution | PHP executes on the server, and the major functionality of PHP is to produce the HTML code, which will be read by the browser. | JavaScript can handle only specific local tasks. |
| Code Availability | PHP code is available only after the server interprets it. | The interpreter can view the JavaScript code even after the output is generated. |
| External Code Plug-in | PHP can be combined only with HTML. | You can combine JavaScript with HTML, XML, and Ajax. |
| Database | PHP commonly uses MY SQL as a database. | JavaScript does not typically use MySQL as a database management system. |
Conclusion
The choice of language depends on the project requirements and client preferences. However, in the comparison between PHP and JavaScript, PHP has an upper hand due to its open-source availability.
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