The competition between Javascript and PHP has been fierce quite a lot lately. Being one of the finest and most prominent backend technologies for conducting a web development project, both of them are considered ideal for server-side scripting. However, understanding these technologies thoroughly and spotting their key differences can be quite helpful.
Without any delay, let’s begin!
| IntroducingNodejs                                               2 |
| Benefits of Node.js                                               3 |
| Real-time Apps                                                  3
Easy to learn                                                   3 Large and active community                                        4 |
| Introducing PHPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4 |
| High Flexibility                                                  5
Enhanced Loading Speed                                           5 Cloud-Service Compatibility                                         6 |
| PHP vs Node – How are they Different?                              6 |
| Conclusion |
Introducing Nodejs
Are you willing to build a scalable and efficient REST API, then Node.js is the perfect choice to take into consideration. You know earlier web apps were written in a client/server model. What happens here is the client as the name implies demands resources and the server is responsible for fulfilling the requirement. All such requests were processed using a thread. Now the issue here was that a single thread was unable to attend to 2 or more requests at once. As a result, Javascript came in time to the rescue!
Javascript introduced Node.js, a successful server-side platform that was built on Google Chrome’s Javascript Engine (V8 Engine). The event-driven, non-blocking I/O model turns out to be pretty lightweight and efficient ensuring developers to compile javascript code into the machine code successfully.
So What exactly is Node.js? Is it a framework? Nope! Is it a library? Nope! It’s a runtime environment.
The open-source, cross-platform Javascript runtime environment surely is in vogue these days. And why not since it offers a set of asynchronous I/O primitives. Now what it does is, it safeguards the javascript code from being blocked. Further, I would like to mention some benefits of using Node.js
Benefits of Node.js
Being one of the most lightweight, robust, efficient, and fast technology, Node.js offers a wide range of advantages in comparison to other frameworks or technologies. So what exactly makes Node a go-to choice for some of the most evolving industries such as healthcare, IT, etc.
1.  Real-time Apps
Today the urge of creating real-time apps is increasing like never before. I mean no one would have imagined building supercharged apps within a blink of an eye. Well, all the web apps developed using Node.js turn out to be great in terms of performance in real-time.
Since Node.js is single-threaded, event-driven, blocking I/O and has the ability to process multiple concurrent requests, the power-packed performance can be expected. It may quite interest you to know that Node.js features the V8 benchmark suite which successfully results in high performance and quick execution.
2.  Easy to learn
Another significant advantage of considering Node.js development over other options is that it is easy to learn. You see Javascript being one of the most basic yet popular languages across the globe. Most of the frontend and backend developers are supposed to have a good grasp on it. So being a Node.js developer, it becomes way easy to get started with the technology. Also, less amount of time and energy is expected to waste behind the learning process.
3.  Large and active community
Another interesting advantage of Node is that with the prominent technology you do get a large and active community filled with experts and veterans at your service. At any point of time, you need help you can definitely get one here. In fact, all these professionals keep on contributing to the development and enhancement of the community regularly. Also, you will come across several forums and detailed documentation regarding the tech offering ready-made and easy solutions on Github. The future is extremely bright, no two ways about it!
Other than these, Node turns out to be the best when it comes to scalability, extended support, high performance, best in regards to security and whatnot! No wonder that some of the leading companies named Netflix, Walnut, Uber, are relying on Node.js technology to succeed.
Enough talking about Node.js, Now it’s time to greet our next contender, PHP.
Introducing PHP
Well, have you seen a phoenix? Yes, the bird that has an ability to rise again from the ashes. PHP is more or less like the phoenix bird. Yes, the technology has been condemned to death a plethora times and still somehow managed to rise from the ashes and gain a top spot in the web development realm. PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor is mainly used to develop some of the most dynamic and interactive website.
The opensource server scripting language was introduced way back in 1994 and it somehow seems to have managed to stay relevant till date. So what exactly can ee created using a PHP framework?
Well, you name it and you have it! Right from content management system to web-based application and development of sites, eCommerce websites and applications, data analytics and representations, processing of images, Graphical design, and whatnot!
No wonder PHP has been considered as one of the most versatile and pragmatic web development language and why not since it features a plethora of extended functionalities and advantages some of which are mentioned below. Let’s take a look!
High Flexibility
Unlike other technology or platforms, PHP is extremely flexible and scalable and assures the development of robust apps. You see it is very important for a server-scripting language to be flexible not just while you are working on the project and even after the project is accomplished. And you know what’s the best part here? Significant amount of changes can be made even after you have begin working on the project. It saves ample time.
Yes, here PHP developers no longer have the pressure of writing fresh codes and command functions. All they have to do is make some changes to the existing ones and used in a proper manner.
Enhanced Loading Speed
The Next benefit of using PHP is improved loading speed. Did you know that PHP is three times faster than Python? Yes, take any scenario and find yourself out! You see loading speed plays a significant role especially when you are willing to rank your website on renowned search engines. Thus, PHP certainly assists here and offers a competitive edge. Also, higher loading speed does satisfies end-users and assist in increasing client base.
Cloud-Service Compatibility
Today cloud computing turns out to be one of the most latest trends that is considered by almost every small or large company. For example Amazon Web Services. You see it is possible to deploy a PHP application on a cloud server which certainly leads to enhanced scalability and other advantages.
What’s more? Well, PHP turns out to be more versatile, secure, well connected with databases, well-integrated with third party services, less learning curve, powerful library support, platform-indepenedent, cost-effective, etc.
So now you have been acquainted with both the technologies, it’s time to delve into their differences. Which one is a cut above?
PHP vs Node – How are they Different?
|
Factors |
PHP |
Node |
| Performance | PHP requires hack to code faster | Node’s performance is better most of the time and it doesn’t require anything else |
| Client-Side Coding | Here PHP loads the page without processing using client devices | All the logic of the backend code can be imported |
| Frameworks | Â Laravel, Yii, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, and Phalcon | Â Meteor, Derby, Express, and Sails |
| Databases | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL | Not just SQL but also MongoDB, CouchDB, and graph database systems like Neo4j |
| Community | Large Community | Relatively Smaller Community |
Conclusion
So that’s all for now! You see both Node.js and PHP are of a kind. The accurate answer for which one is better depends on your requirements.
Choose PHP:-
- You need a centralized server
- You need portability
- You want to combine it with CMSes such as WordPress, Jumla, or Drupal
Choose Node:-
- You are willing to create a single page app
- You need high loading speed
- Real-time data is needed
Moreover, instead of figuring out which technology outshines the most, try hiring a reputable web development company, map out your requirements and then make a choice. I hope I did justify the Title. In case, if there is still anything that you need to know, feel free to get in touch via the comment section.
