JavaScript is famous for client-side operations of web pages and controls the dynamic elements.  In modern web applications, JavaScript is accompanied by HTML and CSS to design web pages. It also functions on the server-end; thus, JS provides support for front-end and back-end development.

PHP is a server-side programming language intended to develop dynamic web pages. It can be easily embedded in HTML and can; interact with databases, manage session tracking, encrypt data, handle forms, and many more.

This guide serves the following learning outcomes:

JavaScript

There are numerous scripting languages available for both front-end and backend development, with JavaScript being one of the most popular. The primary use case of JS is at the front-end, intended to create and maintain the user interface of web pages. Over the years, it has emerged as a leading front-end language due to the following characteristics.

  • A lightweight scripting language intended to handle data in browsers
  • Provides an in-time compilation
  • Cross-platform support to run scripts anywhere
  • Supports various common data types and functions

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)

As PHP has matured, it has become a widely used programming language. Although PHP stands after Java, ASP.Net, Ruby, most of the websites are working under the PHP shed. The noteworthy features of PHP are:

  • Manages the dynamic content on a website
  • Simple and easy to learn
  • Compatible with all famous servers like Netscape, Apache, Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Service)
  • Provides secure web development as it has multiple security layers

JavaScript vs PHP

The following points provide a comparison between both programming languages. However, the following commonalities and differences are observed.

Development: According to a survey, 79% of all websites practices PHP for back-end development. In contrast, JavaScript continues to be one of the most popular front end scripting languages.

Integration: PHP can be integrated with HTML only, however, JavaScript can be integrated with XML, Ajax, and HTML.

Complexity: JavaScript is harder to learn for a novel developer(due to its complex nature of syntax, advanced features) whereas the syntax of PHP is quite user-friendly. Thus, PHP is less complex than JavaScript.

Reusability: Complexity has a direct relation with usability. As JavaScript is more complex than PHP, it would be difficult to use JavaScript than PHP.

Performance: PHP creates a new process against a user’s request and in case of hundreds of requests, the PHP server may show a performance lag. While in JavaScript, one request is entertained at one time while keeping the other requests in a queue. This shows JS is quite fast than PHP.

Platform: PHP has cross-platform support for OS (Linux, Windows) and servers (Apache, IIS). While JavaScript can be run in a wide range of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.

Database Accessibility: Being a server-side language, PHP can handle database operations standalone whereas JavaScript requires an environment (one of the famous is Node.js) to perform database functions.

Conclusion

The most popular programming languages at the moment are PHP and Java. Each language has its own core functioning area and they do share some commonalities and differences. This article provides the insights of PHP and JavaScript alongside their head to head comparison. It is concluded from the historical information that PHP is best suited for back-end development whereas JavaScript is more fruitful for front-end development.

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