PHP and Node are some heavy utility backends for dynamic websites, which fulfill the same purpose but have some really distinctive features that put it on opposite extremes.
While PHP is primarily a general purpose scripting language which was primarily designed for the purposes of web development. Node.js is more of a JavaScript programming language that runs on the server which assists in making dynamic and interactive web pages.
A Brief Comparison:
| Features | PHP | Node.js |
| Runtime Environment | PHP comes with a ready to install feature which can be used on the server side. | Node.js is primarily a runtime environment for Javascript on the server side. |
| Powered by two engines | PHP is powered by Zend engines | Node.js is powered by Google’s V8 javascript engine |
| Complexity of use | PHP is relatively simpler to Node.js. | Node.js is not too complex but is hectic in the sense that it requires more lines of coding and basic understanding of closures and callback functions |
| JSON | PHP uses it lesser than Node.js PHP makes use of json_encode() and json_decode() functions | JSON works better with Node.js than PHP. Node.js uses JSON.stringify() and JSON.parse() |
| Concurrency | PHP uses multi-threaded blocking I/O to carry out multiple tasks to run parallels alongside each other | Node.js uses event-driven non blocking I/O execution model |
| Execution | PHP is synchronous | Node.js is asynchronous |
| Execution Speed | PHP is slower than Node.js | Faster than PHP and also light weight compared to PHP. |
| Web Server | PHP runs on the Apache web server. It can also run on IIS web server in case of a windows machine. | NPM does not need a web server, it runs on its own run time environment. |
| Package Manager | Composer package manager is widely used. | Node Package Manager (NPM) is widely used. |
1. Advantages of using PHP:
- Centralized Server
In case we do not plan on scaling your application across multiple servers LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) stack can always be your choice for a Linux based development environment. This might change depending on project requirements and growth and PHP in combination with MEAN helps solve the trick.
- Portability
One of PHPs main advantages is its portability. The cheap costs of web hosting and the availability of servers for PHP shows tremendous versatility compared to any other. Any platform that has Apache, IIS and a supported database system installed can run PHP and this in turn helps make PHP applications highly portable and easy to deploy. CMS like WordPress, Drupal or Joomla make it easier to create websites and are capable of working on almost every web host.
2. Advantages Of Using Node.JS:
- Same Language across the Stack:
If your project involves software stacks such as MEAN Stack ( MongoDB, ExpressJs, AngularJs.), dynamic single page applications, server side technologies and Front end technologies like Angular Js, Backbone.Js or React Js then Node.js would definitely be the pick of the platforms. This enables having the same language (Javascript) across your whole stack and most importantly the backend and the frontend. This also lets you use the Typescript library for Node.js which comes handy, whenever you require an Angular project to make it easier for the developers. MEAN Stack also has better scaling advantages compared to LAMP stack across multiple servers.
- Realtime Data
Node.js is highly recommended for applications that require real time data. Developer reception has not been at its best when it comes to using Node.js for financial applications as JavaScript has not proven reliable when it comes to managing many numbers as everything is integer or float. This doesn’t not exhibit much separation is done between the types. When it comes to working on financial applications a more type safe language is required which offers a reliable enough library for computing.
As one of the top php development company, we at BrainMobi are well acquainted with the kind of development endeavours php and node are capable of providing. Our long list of development endeavours enables us to bring the best out of every platform and we look to channelize that for the development routines we provide for our clients. If you have the idea for a mobile or web application, feel free to write to us at sales@brainmobi.com .
