In the online advancement world, Node.js and PHP are the most well-known programming languages being used. Although both of these languages are able to manage the applications of any sort of complexity, they are being built around the different concepts & architectures. If you are an app owner or looking to develop a website, you might be wanting to choose between these two environments, therefore, you must know about the major differences, advantages, and limitations of the two languages.

Now, in case you are new to both these languages, then let us first give you an introduction to both of these languages:

What is PHP?

PHP first came into existence in the year 1995, then later followed by Node.js in the year 2009. They both are essentially utilized as a server-side scripting language for creating various electronic applications. Be that as it may, Node.js is additionally beginning to be utilized as a desktop application development platform.

PHP started as a dynamic language to refresh HTML pages with syntax like Perl and began off as a somewhat fundamental programming language. After some time, PHP got increasingly more propelled programming highlights, for example, package management, object-oriented programming model, namespaces, & exceptions.

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What is NodeJs?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that is built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine that is used to build mobile, enterprise, IoT and web applications, API engines, robotics and so on, but mainly the web apps.

Node.js utilized the effectively entrenched JavaScript language and made another development platform over the V8 JavaScript engine.

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In this article, we will talk about the performance differences between these two platforms. Along with this, some other parameters that we will be discussing subsequently are well-known PHP expansions to improve execution, for example, the Zend JIT runtime and HHVM PHP runtime venture, and some outsider benchmarks of these augmentations.

PHP Vs NodeJs: The Real Battle

• Database

PHP works quite effectively with MySQL database & supports the various versions of the databases like Postgresql and MariaDB. Your code may work with all the databases regardless of utilized engines.

NodeJs has the libraries to access the SQL, however, there is also a special format to work with the data. That is JSON (Javascript Object Notation). JSON is often used when the data is sent from the server to the web page. With this, you may interact with the new types of NoSQL databases. A PHP application may also be configured to support the JSON, however, it is most convenient to use it with the Javascript. You are getting the same code for the server and the browser.

This is what a connection to the database looks like with both of these technologies:

PHP:


NodeJs:


PHP: Used with relational and traditional databases

NodeJs: Works fine with NoSQL databases like CouchDB and MongoDB

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• Speed

Usually, there is a trade-off between speed of writing code & the speed of application execution. With the PHP language, you do not need a compiler or any of the JAR files. So, PHP is quite an amazing choice if you need a working project very quickly.

On the other hand, the PHP code does not execute that quickly. However, Node.js is a code that executes quickly and smoothly reducing load requirements on the server. You even get access to the callbacks, which wastes quite less time when you try to deal with the multiple different threads. You will spend more time compiling and coding with Node.js. But the end result will be more optimized.

PHP: Suitable when you need to complete a task quickly

NodeJs: Suitable when you need an optimized end result

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•  Deployment and Development

Coding in PHP language for most of the programmers is fast and simple. There is absolutely no need for the various compilers or the converters. You just write the code in the notepad and can execute it. The language easily establishes the connection to SQL databases & has no hosting restrictions. If you wish to complete a project very quickly, then PHP will be just an excellent tool.

With Node.js language, everything is just more complicated. Deploying frameworks and applications needs preparation and complex server infrastructure.

Syntax: The PHP code is crisp and concise



Whereas in Node, the output for the same code is comparatively longer



With PHP, coding is simple and easy

With NodeJs, deploying frameworks requires complex server infrastructure

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You may also refer to the following table for the other distinguishing factors:

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• When to use which Language?

Talking about both the languages, they both have their own advantages and it completely depends on your project, when to use what.

When should you use PHP?

PHP is a portable language. The affordable costs of availability of the servers and web hosting for PHP are comparable to none. PHP can run on just any of the platforms that have IIS, Apache & a supported database system installed, this makes the PHP applications easy and portable to deploy. CMS systems like Joomla, Wordpress or Drupal make it quite easy to create websites & work on just every web host.

When to use NodeJs?

NodeJs can prove to be a correct choice for you if your project includes software stacks such as the MEAN stack (ExpressJs, MongoDB, AngularJs), the dynamic single page applications, FrontEnd technologies and server-side technologies like the Backbone.Js, AngularJs or ReactJs. This makes it quite easy to have the same language i.e., Javascript across the whole stack. You may also use the Typescript library in case of the Angular project.

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Summing up:

That completes the difference between the two top programming languages. Both have their strengths as well as weak points. Hence, one cannot say which one can be really better out of these since they have their plus and minus points. However, depending on the project requirements and considering the features of both languages, you should be able to decide the best one for your project.

When looking to hire a top software development company, you must know your project requirements and budget. Once you finalize the company, you can take help from a software consultant and then decide which language you should go for (if you are not sure).

If you feel I have missed any major difference between the two languages and that they should be added here, then you may share your views in the comment section below.