The web is ever-changing technology landscape. Server-side developers have a bewildering choice of long-standing heavy-weights such as Java, C, and Perl to newer, web-focused languages such as Ruby, Clojure and Go. It rarely matters what you choose, presuming your application works.
But how do those new to web development make an informed choice?
I hope not to start a holy war, but I’m pitting two development disciplines against each other:
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PHP was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994. It is processed by an interpreter normally installed as a module in a web server such as Apache or Nginx. PHP code can be intermingled with HTML. That’s not necessarily best-practice, but those new to the language can produce useful code very quickly. It contributed to the language’s popularity, and PHP is now used on more than 80% of the world’s web servers. It has been helped in no small part by WordPress — a PHP Content Management System which powers a quarter of all sites.
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Node.js was created by Ryan Dahl in 2009. It uses Google’s V8 JavaScript engine, which also powers client-side code in the Chrome web browser. Unusually, the platform has built-in libraries to handle web requests and responses — you don’t need a separate web server or other dependencies. Node.js is relatively new but has been rapidly gaining traction. It’s used by companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, LinkedIn and PayPal.
Where’s C#, Java, Ruby, Python, Perl, Erlang, C++, Go, Dart, Scala, Haskell, etc?
An article which compared every option would be long. Would you read it? Do you expect a single developer to know them all? I’ve restricted this smackdown to PHP and Node.js because:
- It’s a good comparison. They’re both open source, primarily aimed at web development and applicable to similar projects.
- PHP is a long-established language but Node.js is a young upstart receiving increased attention. Should PHP developers believe the Node.js hype? Should they consider switching?
- I know and love the languages. I’ve been developing with PHP and JavaScript since the late 1990s, with a few years of Node.js experience. I’ve dabbled in other technologies, but couldn’t do them justice in this review.
Besides, it wouldn’t matter how many languages I compared. Someone, somewhere, would complain that I hadn’t included their favorite!
About SitePoint Smackdowns
Developers spend many years honing their craft. Some have languages thrust upon them, but those who reach Ninja level usually make their own choice based on a host of factors. It’s subjective; you’ll promote and defend your technology decision.
That said, SitePoint Smackdowns are not “use whatever suits you, buddy” reviews. I will make recommendations based on my own experience, requirements and biases. You’ll agree with some points and disagree with others; that’s great — your comments will help others make an informed choice.
Evaluation Methodology
PHP and Node.js are compared in the following ten rounds. Each bout considers a general development challenge which could be applied to any web technology. We won’t go too deep; few people will care about the relative merits of random number generators or array sorting algorithms.
The overall winner will be the technology which wins the most rounds. Ready? Let the battle commence …