Python vs PHP : Which Language is Going to Dominate the IT Industry in 2020?

Featured article by Hemendra Singh, Managing Director and co-founder of The NineHertz

If you are a web developer or a techno-friendly guy who holds an interest in the latest trends and technologies of the website development market, then you must have heard about both Python and PHP. PHP and Python, are said to be the two most popular programming languages ever created. But, have you ever wondered which language is better for your business in regards to the budget and other project consideration – Python development or PHP development? You can hire PHP developers as well as Python developers from IT companies because they are well versed with perks of development.

Whether a beginner or a start-up organization or an existing enterprise, all want to make a big presence in the custom web development sector. Beginners often have concern about which one to choose from the two while experienced developers face many other different sets of challenges. Yet what generates maximum profit for your company, is worth discussing.

Now, if you are also feeling stuck in the popular battle of Python vs PHP and finding it hard to make a decision of choosing one; do have an individual read of both and make your mind accordingly. Probably, you will get a clear insight on whether to go for PHP web development or Python web development.

INTRODUCTION

Both PHP and Python are open source coding languages that are widely used for a variety of programming purposes in web development. Though they are far differ in terms of features and functions but both are extremely popular and freely used by the community of web developers for a quite long time.

PHP

Earlier refers to Personal Home Page, PHP is currently known as the recursive initialism Hypertext Preprocessor. Unlike JavaScript, PHP operates from the back-end server and not from the user’s front-end. It is an HTML-embedded, server-side programming language that works great for the development of web applications. PHP is   also renowned as one of the most used scripting languages that are useful in all general purpose of website development.

Python

Python is a comparatively new scripting language for backend programming. Owing to its enormous library support and in-built data structures, it is currently one of the most popular choices of the web developers community. At present, Python is one of the few high-level object-oriented web programming languages, which is winning hearts all around the world due to its non-complexity and dynamic binding connection.

ORIGIN

PHP

PHP was originally generated by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 but officially launched in 1995. At present, The PHP Group is producing the PHP reference implementation.

Python

Python was initially conceived by Guido van Rossum in Netherlands in the late 80s. Later on, its presentation began at the end of the year 1989.

FRAMEWORKS AND CMS

PHP

PHP offers a large number of mature CMS and frameworks for creating industry-specific web applications. An enthusiastic community of expert PHP developers maintain and use Symfony and Laravel like frameworks that empower purposeful applications to be used globally by millions of users. Most popular open-source e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Magento together with leading CMS, WordPress is built in PHP.

Python

Whereas, when it comes to Python, it presents a wide range of powerful and extremely versatile frameworks that perform very similar to PHP yet alternatives in these structures are anyway limited in their following. With the increasing use of this scripting language in primary projects, the number of Python frameworks is also increasing rapidly. Flask and Django are two of the most popular CMS alternatives that Python developers use to develop effective mobile and web applications.

From the above context, we can calculate that PHP dominates the syntax as it preserves something for everyone. In several instances, PHP provides more versatile options in CMS as well as in frameworks according to the specifications of the project.

Battle of PHP vs Python

Those who want to expand their programming skills should learn one as well as the other language as both carry their own significances and uses. Let us begin to have a glance at the detailed comparison between PHP and Python to figure out which one is going to rule in 2020.

Python is more secure

In terms of security, Python applications is a clear winner without any doubt. Together with numerous security features, it is counted among the most secure programming languages right out there. Besides being a great choice for rapid writing of complex applications, Python possesses high-security options that provide a thick layer of safety to your software. Whereas, PHP development often faces a lot of security issues.

PHP is renowned

PHP has been in the industry for a very long time and still used in a wide range all around the world. It was associated with various big brands at times, for instance, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Tumblr, Mailchimp and many more. Facebook, in its beginning days, has its principal backend developed in PHP. It is easy to hire php web developers in comparison to hire a dedicated Python programmer.

Python is leading the present market

According to a worldwide survey, conducted in the last quarter of 2019, Python ranked at the top of the best programming languages list. With a share of 29.49%, Python managed to get a remarkable hike by 4.5% in comparison to last year. Furthermore, as per the graph of job opportunities, Python is offering more than double of the PHP positions. This latest trend reflects the increasing usability and adaptation of Python among the web development sector.

PHP is easy-to-learn

Confronting to PHP, Python is considered quite tough to learn. On the other hand, PHP is far easier when it comes to learning the language as it is straightforward with its process.

Although not everyone can be a master in Python development and hence to hire dedicated Python developers or to get quality Python web development services, you have to make the choice very precisely.

Python is better for advance webpage

Python is a high-level machine language. It is one of the most powerful general purpose coding scripts for web development. With Python’s advanced features, it is always easy to develop desktop GUI applications, complex websites, web pages and applications in a less period of time in comparison to the PHP. By emphasizing the core functionality of the application, it is extremely effective while building complicated scripts or hacking webpage with Python.

PHP is more accessible for web development

PHP is an amazing web development tool and is embedded with lots of salutary features. Since its beginning, it was originated for delivering an effortless experience of web-development. Writing websites is always easier in PHP than that of the Python; PHP is considered much better when we talk about web development. However, with the right third-party modules, Python is an effective web-development tool simultaneously.

Python carries less and easy-to-use codes.

With more readable and minimalistic coding, Python’s design structure emphasizes on convenient code readability. It is not only easy for a          dedicated Python developers to write clean code despite the program’s size or organization’s scale but it also reduces the cost and time consumption of a project.

Perfectly suitable to all

Being more flexible than PHP; Python is a complete fit for the development of all kinds of scientific applications and software prototypes that needs to process huge amounts of data. However, in certain cases it is not that efficient in the development of web applications.

Python is gaining rapid popularity in the industry

Beating Java to dust, Python is apparently declared as the second most popular and preferred programming language on Github. Being the           most prominent achiever in the Tiobe dictionary of language popularity in 2018, Python was rated 8.294 in the month of January 2019. According to software quality services vendor, Python ranks among the most taught programming language at the academies.

Python for cross-platform app development

The biggest jewel in the crown of Python is that it is a cross-platform language. In more simple words, Python supports cross-platform development, which makes it an ideal technique for web and mobile app development. We can develop a website or a mobile app that will run on all platforms like Android, iOS, and Linux simultaneously, using Python programming.

Orientation

Both PHP and Python are quite similar in several aspects and feature a range of various programming paradigms in common. While Python is an object-oriented and aspect-oriented programming language that offers functional and well-structured programming styles, whereas, on the other hand, PHP features support for a reflective, object-oriented, procedural programming style.

PHP vs Python: The better one for your business

Though, when it comes to selecting one for your business, you should keep the requirements, budget and all the other specifications of your web project in mind for a correct choice as both come with their own set of features and functions. Both languages offer easy-to-use syntax validation tools and training process to facilitate a solid foundation of learning programs. You need to think extremely well about your programming domain as one may surpass the other in one aspect but may lose in others. Hence, choose a language, which can take care of your projects efficiently.

After going through all the above points, select the one that suits best to your project’s requirements and when you want to hire dedicated PHP developers or Python developers do rely only on an experienced professional. This article is written with an intention to give you an instant overview of both the programming languages so that you get a pretty clear idea about their working and hire dedicated Python or PHP programmers. Now it is all upon you to decide on the ultimate winner.

Conclusive thoughts

Both PHP and Python, are a paradox in themselves. To say which language will dominate the market is really tough. It becomes a little more complex decision when both the contenders are differently capable in all the aspects and are worth to gain your attention.

Nevertheless, both languages hold many similarities between them but at a certain point of time, they are different from each other in several areas.

While PHP is having enhanced job opportunities and technical resources; Python is relatively fun and worth to opt for any project. Python can perform pretty much better, whereas PHP is considered best from the prospects of server-side programming. Here, Python has emerged as a winner in the comparison as it leads in terms of documentation, salary, and many others.

My name is Hemendra Singh. I am Managing Director and co-founder of The NineHertz, a Mobile App Development Company. I am having a keen interest in the latest trends and technologies that are emerging in different domains. Being an entrepreneur in the field of IT sector, it becomes my responsibility to aid my audience with the knowledge of the latest trends in the market.