PHP vs Javascript: a Short Comparison

Being a custom software development company, we keep comparing popular programming languages like Java and Javascript, PHP and Python, Java and .Net, Kotlin and Java, PHP and Java. Today we are going to take a look at the difference between Javascript and PHP as well as their similarity.
PHP and Javascript are the most popular languages for web development, and people often wonder which one is better. Just like with all other technologies, there is no accurate answer. In this blog post, we will show why.

Similarities and Differences

PHP and Javascript have a lot in common but still, there are some significant differences that make each of them a better tool for a particular part of the development.

Javascript

Javascript is an object-oriented and interpreted scripting language released in 1995. The source code can be easily read by anyone which makes Javascript simple yet not so secure. It is probably the best tool for building creative and user-friendly web pages. As it is executed in the browser, at the client side, Javascript allows a quick response and less load on the server. Javascript used to be a front-end language but then Node.js appeared allowing software engineers to use Javascript for both back-end and front-end development.
Javascript is a perfect choice for creating a dynamic SPA (single page application) and for working with front-end technologies like AngularJS and ReactJS as well as with server technologies like MongoDB, CouchDB, and NoSQL.

PHP

Just like Javascript, PHP is an object-oriented and interpreted scripting language released in 1995. It was created for web development but now can be used as a general-purpose language. The main difference from Javascript is that PHP is a server-side language used for back-end and executed on the server. It has more features, richer libraries, and better security compared to JS.
PHP is an option to choose when there is a need for working with CMS (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla), LAMP stack, or technologies like MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.

PHP vs. JavaScript Comparison

Here is a table showing these and some more differences between Javascript and PHP:

Conclusion

Even though Javascript can be successfully used for both front-end and back-end development with the help of such platforms as Node.js, PHP still remains a better tool for the back-end. In fact, the best idea would be to combine both — PHP and Javascript — in order to build a robust dynamic web application. There is a good comparison describing the use of these scripting languages together: if the app you are developing is a painting, then PHP is a paint-brush and Javascript — a paint-color. A lot of prosperous companies use both languages for developing their software, e.g. Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia, and Flickr.

No matter what language you choose, PHP or Javascript, for your project, the SCAND software development team is ready to help you with turning your business ideas into reality. Explore our JavaScript case studies to see how we’ve integrated JavaScript effectively in various projects.