Reason to choose Python over PHP

In today's highly disruptive technological world, PHP and Python are the two most popular server-side languages ​​preferred by most companies. However, choosing Python over PHP or PHP over Python is still a difficult task. While a large number of sites are programmed in PHP, Python has experienced a steady upward trend in the past two years.

Python has been on the market for over thirty years. However, you can find versions of Python x PHP (mostly written by biased programmers) that highlight the disadvantages of Python and question the viability of its application in the development of IT products and services.

If you've ever thought as CEO or CIO if Python development is right for your project, here are some suggestions:

How is Python

According to Datanyze, the sites on which PHP was defined as the development language were 55,214, although PHP far exceeds the total number of websites developed in February 2020.

While PHP ruled the neighborhood, a downward trend can certainly be seen, as Python is now a better alternative.

The language in the fight between Python and PHP, in this case, Python on PHP, cannot merely be based on the rate of growth. There are several reasons why a business should take into account when making a decision.

Python vs. PHP: comparison

There has been a long cold war between the development of PHP and Python, with no sign that it will drop anytime soon. We are going to turn why Python Training against PHP Training to find the winner.

1. Speed ​​to market

What is the new currency that will put a business on the road to success? Time is the answer.

In today's highly digital world, companies are continually striving to accelerate their journey towards digital transformation. You should create an MVP as soon as possible to raise funds for product development. It is the main reason why you need to choose the right language for your web application.

Python comes with an excellent selection of third-party libraries, modules, and packages to complete projects with just a few lines of code faster than with many other server languages, such as Java or PHP. It also helps companies to create an agile environment in which stakeholders can quickly decide whether or not to continue the project.

2. Security

The only aspect associated with the web development process is vulnerability. A study by the OWASP Foundation describes that SQL injection, falsification of requirements between locations, scripts between locations, etc. are among the most critical security vulnerabilities in web applications.

The cost and time to address these vulnerabilities increase exponentially over the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

The graph shows that it is 30 times more expensive to fix vulnerabilities in the post-production phase than in the design, requirements identification, and architecture phases.

Building a secure Web application in today's DevSecOps era is, therefore, not a luxury, but a necessity. When it comes to PHP vs. Python, both are open source technologies. Consequently, CxOs inevitably have doubts about their security.

However, when it comes to security, a company needs to choose Python over PHP. Python is the first choice of cybersecurity experts for backend development. For example, Django offers integrated security features that help protect the application against various types of security threats.

Also, according to WikiLeaks, several government agencies like the CIA (strongly) rely on Python as their secret hacking tool. In addition to the CIA, several other US organizations that store sensitive data use Python as the backend language: the Department of Education, the Department of the Navy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

On the other hand, PHP has a terrible security history behind it. Although most security issues have been resolved due to the robust support of the community, PHP lacks security compared to Python.

3. Performance

The speed of the application/website is a critical factor that determines performance and fluidity. According to a Google study, 53% of visits to mobile sites leave a page that takes more than three seconds to load. Today's era of experience depends on speed: it is essential to launch the software for production several times a day.

As already mentioned, Python is fast and powerful. Python's just-in-time compiler makes it faster than competing PHP. One of the main advantages of JIT is that files no longer need to be recompiled after compilation.

On the other hand, previous versions of PHP, PHP 5.x, were much slower than Python. However, the release of PHP 7.x brought a twist, which significantly improved the speed of applications. Zend Engine 3.0 was released with PHP 7, making PHP 7 twice as fast as its predecessor.

4. Versatility

Currently, web applications are not limited to the development of portals or simple news websites. Instead, AI becomes an integral part of the web, along with other new technologies. All companies with online portals that offer services to their customers use advanced algorithms for AI and machine learning.

These algorithms not only help companies to identify their users more closely associated with machine learning but also to identify specific areas of their business in which they should invest their investments.

Uber has built an ML platform with Python called Michelangelo PyML (an extension of Michelangelo's original product). This platform allows them to make predictions in online and offline mode, thus solving daily tasks. Users can validate models with PyML and then replicate them in Michelangelo for complete efficiency and scalability.

Python has many robust and powerful libraries compared to the libraries provided by PHP. These libraries offer support in all areas, including NLP (natural language processing), image processing, and many more.

5. Scalability

When products are successful, companies grow, and when the company sees an upward trend, its user base also increases. In this case, it would be a priority for any business to have an application that easily adapts to rapid changes in customer and market requirements. Therefore, it is essential to choose an application development technology that can assist your business in the scaling process.

In terms of scalability, applications based on the Python framework offer high AI and ML functions, which leads to high scalability and easy adaptation to changing trends.

For example, you can use Django's infrastructure to build scalable applications, because this infrastructure is a set of ready-made wired components that are decoupled (which implies that they are independent of each other). It means that these components can be disconnected from the mains and replaced according to the different requirements of the company.

For example, Instagram offers the world's most massive deployment of Django's web structure. The social networking service attributes its decision to choose Python to PHP to its reputation for simplicity and practicality.

Even though Instagram's size has doubled and the efficiency of the web service needs to be maximized, Django has not only helped maintain simplicity and practicality, but also scalability for millions of users.

On the contrary, PHP is less open to growing demands and new trends. Despite its continuous improvement, PHP lags behind Python applications and therefore loses the battle "Python against PHP: scalability."

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