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  1. Stackups
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  5. JavaScript vs PHP

JavaScript vs PHP

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

PHP
PHP
Stacks147.4K
Followers82.9K
Votes4.6K
GitHub Stars39.6K
Forks8.0K
JavaScript
JavaScript
Stacks392.3K
Followers284.0K
Votes8.1K

JavaScript vs PHP: What are the differences?

JavaScript and PHP are two popular programming languages used in web development. Here are the key differences between JavaScript and PHP:

  1. Purpose and Context: JavaScript is a client-side scripting language for enhancing web pages with interactivity and user interface. It handles events, manipulates the DOM, makes AJAX requests, and implements client-side logic. PHP, on the other hand, is a server-side scripting language for generating dynamic web content, interacting with databases, handling form submissions, and performing server-side operations.

  2. Syntax and Language Features: JavaScript and PHP have different syntax styles and language features. JavaScript follows the ECMAScript standard and has a C-like syntax. It supports modern features such as arrow functions, classes, modules, and promises. PHP, on the other hand, has a more traditional syntax influenced by C, Java, and Perl. It provides features specific to server-side programming, such as built-in support for handling HTTP requests and responses, session management, and database connectivity.

  3. Client-side vs Server-side Execution: JavaScript is executed on the client-side, meaning it runs within the user's web browser. It is responsible for handling interactions and rendering elements dynamically on the user's device. PHP, on the other hand, is executed on the server-side. When a user requests a web page, the server processes the PHP code and generates HTML, which is then sent to the client's browser for rendering.

  4. Use Cases and Application Domains: JavaScript is primarily used for front-end web development to create interactive user interfaces, validate form inputs, and make asynchronous requests to servers. It is also used for building web-based applications, mobile apps, and even server-side applications (e.g., with Node.js). PHP, on the other hand, is often used for server-side web development. It is commonly used in content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, e-commerce platforms, and server-side scripting for web applications.

  5. Community and Ecosystem: JavaScript has a thriving community and versatile applications beyond web development. It is used for mobile and desktop app development, game development, and more. PHP also has a strong community, especially in web development, with frameworks like Laravel and content management systems like WordPress.

In summary, JavaScript is primarily used for client-side scripting, enhancing web interactivity and user experience. PHP is a server-side scripting language used for generating dynamic web content and handling server-side operations.

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Advice on PHP, JavaScript

Octavian
Octavian

Software Engineer

May 26, 2020

Decided

Both PHP and Python are free but when it comes to web development PHP wins for sure. There is no doubt that Python is a powerful language but it is not optimal for web. PHP has issues... of course; but so does any other language.

Another reason I chose PHP is for community - it has one of the most resourceful communities from the internet and for a good reason: it evolved with the language itself.

The fact that OOP evolved so much in PHP makes me keep it for good :)

377k views377k
Comments
Davit
Davit

Apr 11, 2020

Needs advice

Hi everyone, I have just started to study web development, so I'm very new in this field. I would like to ask you which tools are most updated and good to use for getting a job in medium-big company. Front-end is basically not changing by time so much (as I understood by researching some info), so my question is about back-end tools. Which backend tools are most updated and requested by medium-big companies (I am searching for immediate job possibly)?

Thank you in advance Davit

390k views390k
Comments
Muhamed
Muhamed

Apr 28, 2020

Needs adviceonPythonPythonJavaScriptJavaScriptDjangoDjango

I am currently learning web development with Python and JavaScript course by CS50 Harvard university. It covers python, Flask, Django, SQL, Travis CI, javascript,HTML ,CSS and more. I am very interested in Flutter app development. Can I know what is the difference between learning these above-mentioned frameworks vs learning flutter directly? I am planning to learn flutter so that I can do both web development and app development. Are there any perks of learning these frameworks before flutter?

737k views737k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

PHP
PHP
JavaScript
JavaScript

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Statistics
GitHub Stars
39.6K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
8.0K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
147.4K
Stacks
392.3K
Followers
82.9K
Followers
284.0K
Votes
4.6K
Votes
8.1K
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 954
    Large community
  • 820
    Open source
  • 767
    Easy deployment
  • 488
    Great frameworks
  • 387
    The best glue on the web
Cons
  • 21
    So easy to learn, good practices are hard to find
  • 16
    Inconsistent API
  • 8
    Fragmented community
  • 6
    Not secure
  • 3
    No routing system
Pros
  • 1670
    Can be used on frontend/backend
  • 1497
    It's everywhere
  • 1163
    Lots of great frameworks
  • 899
    Fast
  • 746
    Light weight
Cons
  • 24
    A constant moving target, too much churn
  • 20
    Horribly inconsistent
  • 16
    Javascript is the New PHP
  • 9
    No ability to monitor memory utilitization
  • 8
    Shows Zero output in case of ANY error
Integrations
Laravel
Laravel
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to PHP, JavaScript?

Python

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

Ruby

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

Swift

Swift

Writing code is interactive and fun, the syntax is concise yet expressive, and apps run lightning-fast. Swift is ready for your next iOS and OS X project — or for addition into your current app — because Swift code works side-by-side with Objective-C.

Rust

Rust

Rust is a systems programming language that combines strong compile-time correctness guarantees with fast performance. It improves upon the ideas of other systems languages like C++ by providing guaranteed memory safety (no crashes, no data races) and complete control over the lifecycle of memory.

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