PHP is an established server-side scripting language for
creating dynamic Web pages. As a language that has been designed expressly for
the Web, it brings many features that commercial entities are looking for:
- Exceptionally short learning curve
- Quick development time
- Very high performance
This is essential for companies who are faced with scarce
skilled programming resources and ever-tighter time to market deadlines. In
addition, PHP supports all major platforms (UNIX, Windows and even mainframes),
and features native support for most popular databases. All these factors make
it a very good choice for Web development: such shops working with PHP have
reported being able to hire non-programmers and have them producing usable code
within days. Programmers familiar with languages such as C, C++ or Java
frequently find that they can begin programming in PHP within a few hours.
The fact that PHP was designed specifically for Web
development gives it an edge as a development tool, as Intranet Design Magazine
explains:
"PHP was built with the needs of Web developers in
mind... Unlike other cumbersome, overhead-laden approaches, PHP is lightweight
and focused on the Web - where it can solve complex problem scenarios quicker
and more easily than comparable technologies."1
Java began its life as a programming language and was
initially aimed at running client-side applications inside of Web browsers.
Over the last few years, the problems associated with these
"applets," as they were known, has led Sun and many other Java
developers to use the language in other ways. One of the most prominent ways is
in server-side programming, allowing Web sites to connect to databases and
produce other server-side applications, or "servlets." Sun came out
with Java Server Pages (JSP) as a means of writing servlets. JSP, like PHP, is
highly portable across different platforms (even though PHP supports any 32-bit
or better platform, whereas JSP supports only platforms that have a Java
virtual machine available). However, a beginner with no programming background
will find it exceptionally difficult to begin working with servlets,because of
the complexity of the language as well as the complicated JSP system design.
JSP's performance also leaves much to be desired: a recent
survey in ZDnet's eWeek online publication found that PHP is as much as 3.5
times faster than JSP. In the Web environment, this makes JSP a significantly
worse solution – because it can perform less transactions per second, and
features considerably slower response times.
ZDnet's eWeek also noted that
"JSP is a relatively new technology and still has clear
market immaturities in terms of tools, support resources and available
talent."...Because JSP is based on Java, a strongly typed language, we had
to declare the types of variables we used and manually convert between types
when necessary. This makes JSP the hardest of the scripting languages we tested
for nonprogrammers to learn..."2
PHP works with Java
It is important to note JSP is just one language with which
Java objects can be accessed. PHP also can also integrate with Java, which means
that it can be used as the scripting language for activating Java logic, just
as much as JSP can. Unlike JSP, however, PHP also integrates with other
component models, such as Microsoft's COM, and adding support for new object
models is extremely easy. This means PHP's extensibility is infinite. JSP, on
the other hand, is completely dependent on Java.
IBM programmer Sam Ruby uses PHP in combination with Java.
Using the native Java support in PHP, Java objects can be created and used
transparently, as if they were regular PHP objects.
AuctionWatch , which enables businesses of all sizes to
benefit from dynamic pricing environments, has over 2.6 million unique visitors
per month; 300K+ registered users; 1.2 million+ auctions launched every month.
They tried to use Java, but opted for PHP because it's easier to use and much
faster to develop with. For further information, please contact Ben Margolin,
Director of Seller Services for AuctionWatch (ben@auctionwatch.com).
Programming consultant Reuven Lerner has made some
comparisons among the languages. His view of PHP is summarized as follows:
"The language is easy to learn. Graphic artists and Web
designers might claim that they are not programmers, but the fact is that
they're doing increasingly large projects in JavaScript, VBScript, and other
simple programming languages. PHP is much more regular and well-defined than
Perl, and is much easier for new programmers to grasp than Java. Indeed, PHP
seems like a server-side version of what JavaScript could have been, but isn't.
Someone with little or no programming experience can learn PHP and work with it
after a very short period of time. This is probably true for VBScript, but
certainly not for Perl or Java....PHP is a truly remarkable and powerful
system.
I can see why it has become a popular system for producing
Web sites.... I think that it will be a very strong competitor against Java and
JSPs, and will rise significantly in my recommendations for clients and
internal use."
PHP: growing by the month
JSP enjoys the backing of Sun; hence its constant media
attention. It is interesting to note that despite the lack of any publicity
campaign, PHP's popularity is growing at a monthly rate of 8-11%, a percentage
far greater than the Internet's 4% monthly growth -- as the demand for
server-based applications has risen. More than 6.5 million sites use PHP
(Netcraft May 2001 survey). PHP is used on 39% of Apache servers; Perl trails
fourth, with 11% of the market. Apache maintains 59% of the Web server market;
Microsoft IIS is second, with 28% of market share (E-Soft Inc./SecuritySpace's
May 2001 report).
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