Difference Between PHP and JavaScript
JavaScript is a dynamic programming language, which instantiates dynamically driven interactions when applied to HTML documents. JavaScript (JS) is a lightweight, interpreted or JIT-compiled programming language with first-class functions. 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 major goal of PHP design is allowing web developers to build dynamically executed web pages.
JavaScript
Brenden Eich was the inventor of Javascript language. JavaScript (JS) is a lightweight, interpreted or JIT-compiled programming language with first-class functions. 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 JavaScript can be used for?
- The HyperText Transport Protocol, or HTTP, was designed to do exactly what the name implies, which is to transport HTML text across a network for viewing. But the problem with HTML is that it is completely 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 all be impossible for a browser to perform without some type of 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 at first created as a simple scripting platform called “Personal Home Page”. A lot of the syntax of PHP is lent from other languages naming C, Java, and Perl. However, PHP has a number of 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 and JavaScript (Infographics)
Below is the top 4 difference between PHP vs JavaScript
PHP and JavaScript Similarities
Some similarities are explained below
- Interpretation: PHP and JavaScript are scripting instances where both PHP vs JavaScript are interpreted and the executions of their scripts can be carried out in there in own runtime environments.
- omnipresent: Together, both PHP and JavaScript power a majority of websites. For most of their existence, they were like peanut butter and jelly—JavaScript on the front-end, PHP on the backend. 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 it’s likely somebody, somewhere has already developed a solution.
Key Difference BEtween PHP and JavaScript
Both are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major Differences Between PHP and JavaScript:
- Availability: The main difference between PHP and JavaScript is in who owns the language and who can make changes to it. PHP is completely open-source, which means the Internet community owns it. This means that changes can be made per the needs of the community, rather than an individual developer.
- 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 wrap 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. Setting up a Node.js server, while not difficult, 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 either makes a language terrible or great to use. The edge for this clearly goes to PHP. It’s a slightly simpler 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 that it uses 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 own way to achieve asynchronous processing.
- JSON: JSON “JavaScript Object Notation” is a lightweight data format that is 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 :
- CMS’s like Word Press, Drupal, or Joomla etc.
- Servers like MySQL, SQL, MariaDB, Oracle, Sybase, and 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
Below is the topmost comparison
| The Basis Of Comparison | PHP | JavaScript |
| Execution | PHP executes on server and major functionality of PHP is to produce the HTML code which will be read by the browser | JavaScript can handle only local tasks that are specific |
| The code Availability | PHP code is available only after the server interprets it | JavaScript code can be viewed even after the output is interpreted |
| External Code Plug-in | PHP can be combined only with HTML | JavaScript can be combined with HTML , XML, and Ajax |
| Database | PHP commonly uses MY SQL as a database | MY SQL is not probably used by JavaScript. |
Conclusion
The language opted depends on the project scenarios and client options, but on the discussion between PHP vs JavaScript, PHP can be stated an upper hand due to its open-source availability.
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