PHP and Node.js are two of the most popular server-side scripting languages in the world, but how do you know which one to use? Sure, many people would say that one language or another is better for certain applications, but what’s better really mean?
As opposed to just giving you our own opinion on this matter, let’s take a look at some stats and facts regarding these two languages to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision. And if you want to connect your HTML form with Google sheet then check our guide.
An Introduction to Node.js and PHP
As a web developer, you are probably familiar with programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, and C++. For many years developers have debated which language is better for use in programming for the web- Node.js or PHP.
JavaScript was originally designed to be used in browsers but has grown from just being used to display content on websites to including how a website works (elements like event handling and animations).
Node.js is an open-source platform that allows JavaScript code to be executed outside of a browser and is quickly becoming popular with programmers because of its performance benefits over other languages. PHP has been around since 1995 when it was created by Rasmus Lerdorf.
The Pros and Cons of Node.js
Node.js has a lot of advantages over PHP, including its scalability and asynchronous processing capabilities. Node uses one thread per event as opposed to a single thread for all requests, which means that it can handle more simultaneous requests. It also handles requests in parallel by using an event loop, and this helps it to respond faster with higher throughput rates than languages like Java and Python.
Node is also quick because it runs on Google's V8 engine, which is able to take advantage of multicore CPUs by splitting up tasks among different cores at once. The downside of a node is that it doesn't support SQL databases, so if you want to use something like MySQL you'll need to run another process on the same machine as your application server (e.g., Apache).
The Pros and Cons of PHP
PHP is a widely used language and has many benefits, but it also has drawbacks. The language was created in 1995 as a web scripting language, so it's been around for a while now. It's also easy to learn and use because of its proximity to HTML and JavaScript - which are both very similar languages.
The downside to this is that because it's an older programming language, many developers avoid using it because of its age and how much more there is to learn with newer languages like NodeJS.
However, one thing that makes PHP stand out from other languages is that you can create complex apps with minimal lines of code - making developing faster than with other languages such as JavaScript.
Which One Should You Use?
The first step to figuring out which one you should use is deciding what your goal is for your site. Do you want it to be primarily a database-driven site, or do you want it to have a lot of front-end interactivity?
If it's the latter, then Node.js might be a better option for you because of its low latency and high throughput when it comes to data manipulation on the front end.
If you need something more database-driven, then PHP might be a better choice for you as it can handle large amounts of data that needs to be stored and queried from a database.
Conclusion
The fact of the matter is, both Node.js and PHP are great languages to use in web development and have their own strengths when it comes to different types of projects. However, in terms of performance and scalability, Node.js is a clear winner when compared to PHP; so if those are important factors for your project, you should choose Node.js over PHP.