ASP.NET vs PHP: Which one works for you?

Posted on 26 Sep 2019 5 min read Share On:

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ASP.NET vs. PHP is a battle that never fades out and continues to baffle developers. Both languages are rising in popularity and continue its dominance. PHP is a scripting language for web development and can be embedded into HTML. On the other hand, ASP.NET is one of the best web application development frameworks by Microsoft and can be operated across any .NET supported language.

Since both languages are extensively used by huge number of developers, it makes it difficult for newbie developers to choose either one of them. While PHP has been around for decades, ASP.NET is backed by technology giant Microsoft.

Considering the popularity of both languages among developers, users and developer community must have come across voluminous articles on differences between ASP.NET and PHP by now.

In this article, we will give a quick comparison both the programming languages, breakdown in terms for better understanding and discuss which is better ASP.NET or PHP.

PHP

Created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994, PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (or simply PHP) is a general-purpose programming language originally designed for web development. PHP since its inception stood for Personal Home Page, but it now stands for the recursive initialism PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

PHP code may be executed with a command line interface (CLI), embedded into HTML code, or used in different combination of web template systems, web content management systems, and web frameworks. With a host of sophisticated and advanced features, PHP can be used for several programming tasks outside of the web context, such as graphical applications and drone control.

Region-wise Bifurcation

Websites built using PHP

Facebook
Wikipedia
WordPress.com
Flickr
Yahoo!
iStockPhoto
Tumblr
Mailchimp

What are the advantages of PHP?

One of the biggest advantages that PHP has is the rapid development. PHP comes with every Linux system, and runs on Windows web servers. That means it’s here to stay in the web-based ecosystem triggering a good deal of developer interest.

The demand of faster app development process is increasing at a phenomenal pace and PHP gives the benefit to any mobile app development company that uses all the features for speed.

PHP framework to ensure application’s security.
Simple and easy to maintain.
Extensive community of developers, providing help whenever needed.
Open source software freely available for modifications and redistribution.
PHP programming language perfectly suits the web development and can be directly embedded into the HTML code.
PHP is easier to learn than the C# powered ASP.NET, which comes with a bit of a learning curve.
PHP has enjoyed package support for some years with PEAR, officially part of PHP. Official Composer package website packagist.org comes with a quarter-million packages (and over 1.678 million versions).

Disadvantages of PHP framework

PHP is preferred by developers for multiple advantages it provides but they can’t ignore the obstacles assocaited such as slower execution, lack of ability to solve specific problems.

Use Cases of PHP for Web Development Project

Software stacks like the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
CMS’s like WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla etc.
Servers like MySQL, SQL, MariaDB, Oracle, Sybase, and Postgresql etc.

ASP.NET

ASP.NET is an open-source server side web development tool developed by Microsoft. The framework provides high performance web development tools to create dynamic web pages, web applications and web solutions. ASP.NET development frameworks are written in .NET language and support Visual Basic.NET, JavaScript.NET and languages like Python and Perl. The framework also compatible with the previous version ASP.NET MVC.

Region-wise Bifurcation

Websites built using ASP.NET

StackOverflow
Microsoft
GoDaddy
DELL
Visual Studio
Wild Tangent
Diply.com
TacoBell.com

What are the advantages of ASP.NET?

Flexibility to add and remove features
Simplicity of setting up, a cross-platform and open-source framework
Seamless compatibility with other .NET frameworks.
Touted by Microsoft to be a highly popular framework soon just like Ruby and Node.js.

Disadvantages of ASP.NET framework

Framework does have problems such as difficulty in making changes and documentation gaps
Lack of supporting tools and basic features
Steep learning curve
Smaller community support

Use Cases

Build web apps and services, IoT apps, and mobile backends.
Deploy to the cloud or on-premises.
Run on .NET Core or .NET Framework.

Security

When it comes to ASP.NET and PHP security options, which one works the best? Both the platforms provide robust security features to the developers. However, ASP.NET has in-built security features and does the work for you. On the other hand, PHP only provides you with the tools. If developer does not structure app in a secure manner, it could result in building web apps which are vulnerable to security threats.

Performance

Performance of any framework depends on method of coding. ASP.NET and PHP are pretty close. This statement may raise eyebrows of PHP developers due to the fact that several legendary websites have been built using PHP.

Both ASP.NET and PHP are equipped to run the routine processes and produce the desired results – accessing file systems, finding images and displaying the pages. The speed depends on factors like the database server, end user’s computer and bandwidth.
Support

PHP is open source offers a large pool of developers compared to ASP.NET. However, ASP.NET is not far behind with a strong community of dedicated developers. Considering the vastness You might get a faster response on the PHP forums and communities.

Finally

Enterprises are looking for answers. In today’s ecosystem of disruptive technologies, it can be is it challenging to determine which platform meets organizational needs, enable business goals and support vision for the future. Whether you select PHP or ASP.NET, it is important to understand your goals, technical expertise and more.

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