Why is PHP a slow programming language?

[chem3]

Hello,

Why is PHP so slow when compared with other programming languages?

For example, the time that PHP takes to open one remote file and get its content via cURL or fopen is the same time that other programming languages (C++, VB,...) require to open and get content of tens of same-sized remote files. Why so?

[digitman]

I suppose it could be a compiler/interpreter thing?

[kyberfabrikken]

For example, the time that PHP takes to open one remote file and get its content via cURL or fopen is the same time that other programming languages (C++, VB,...) require to open and get content of tens of same-sized remote files. Why so?

Most of time, used on accessing a remote file, comes from network and protocol overhead. That has nothing to do with the host language.

[logic_earth]

HTTP is very slow there are seven layers an application must go thought before it ever gets to the internet. And won't mention how many times a frame must be broken down to a packet then rebuilt which adds even more overhead.

PHP won't execute as fast as C, C++, or VB because it is not compiled. Instead it is uninterpreted at runtime, parsed, processed into byte-code, then into machine code where its executed.