PHP Loosing Steam?

johnny · #1 (**permalink**) 02-21-09, 15:32

Do you think that in the years to come php will loose its popularity to java, with all the new ajax features that have been recently added and become so

ely popular?

carl owen · #2 (**permalink**) 02-21-09, 17:48

Well, it is really difficult to comment on this. PHP will definitely develop in the coming years and I don't think that it will loose its popularity so easily. However, it is possible that Java develops more than PHP in future but this shouldn't affect popularity of PHP.

Joseph · #3 (**permalink**) 02-23-09, 18:51

Agreed. It is true that Java is developing and gaining popularity. However, you cannot say that PHP may loose its popularity as it is possible that PHP will develop its versions and bring something new in the coming years.

RichardM · #4 (**permalink**) 02-23-09, 19:38

They're two entirely different technologies, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and each more well-suited for particular types of applications. I'm not sure that the popularity of one really affects the other very much at all.

-Richard

anny feng · #5 (**permalink**) 02-23-09, 19:48

The creative one, the winner.
Winners never quit,
quitters never win,
both of them are trying their best to develop themselves.

BodShane · #6 (**permalink**) 02-24-09, 07:50

True. However, i have seen utilization of php more than Java. Do you agree ?

Regards,

Shane Phillips

anny feng · #7 (**permalink**) 02-24-09, 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Phillips

True. However, i have seen utilization of php more than Java. Do you agree ?

Regards,

Shane Phillips

Yes, I with you, it seems that PHP is more polular than Java,
still some people are using java.
choose what suits you, just like friends.......

RichardM · #8 (**permalink**) 02-24-09, 10:56

I prefer PHP for a number of reasons, including the ability to keep my apps entirely server-side and the fact that the user doesn't need to download a runtime or plugin to use them.

-Richard

carl · #9 (**permalink**) 02-24-09, 13:43

I like PHP because it runs without any intermediate layers like Java virtual machine and JIT compiler. I think Java is bad choice on the server side.

Windac · #10 (**permalink**) 02-28-09, 21:29

I have a few friends who work in a Microsoft enviroment. They are always trying to convince me to stop using php because .NET is taking over. From what I know, .NET has been trying to take over for 10 years+. Which ever language allows the most customization and fastest access will win.

iamsam · #11 (**permalink**) 05-30-09, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windac

I have a few friends who work in a Microsoft enviroment. They are always trying to convince me to stop using php because .NET is taking over. From what I know, .NET has been trying to take over for 10 years+. Which ever language allows the most customization and fastest access will win.

.NET is taking over? Tell them that as long as Linux still hold the lion's share of the web server market, .NET isn't going to take over anything. True, it's possible to run .NET on Linux using Mono, but it's hardly an ideal solution.

Anyway, I don't see PHP losing it's standing just yet. Developers still write in PHP, after all, and a majority of content management systems were written in PHP. I remember a while back that Ruby on Rails was hailed as the next big thing, but while RoR is indeed an impressive language, it was still unable to knock PHP off the top spot.

markrd · #12 (**permalink**) 05-31-09, 08:37

I can't imagine PHP losing it steam! I agree that Java is highly used and has a lot of ajax features, but I think PHP will continue to thrive.

JeremyWJ · #13 (**permalink**) 06-19-09, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnny

Do you think that in the years to come php will loose its popularity to java, with all the new ajax features that have been recently added and become so

ely popular?

If PHP does lose steam, which it wont, it would never be because of Java/AJAX. I think you misunderstand what Java, ajax, and php are used for and do.

First off there is a

e difference between Java and PHP. Java is client side and PHP is server side. There are things webmasters must do server side that would either not be possible with Java or very insecure doing client-side. As for AJAX lets not forget that the content AJAX produces is 90% of the time server side generated content by (you guessed it) PHP.

In conclusion, Java and AJAX are client side languages as PHP is server side (actually AJAX incorporates server and client side languages). There will always be the need for server side programming languages and thus Java, Flash, Javascript, and AJAX can not replace PHP. PHP's competitors include other server-side languages such as ASP and Perl. ASP really only runs under ISS (yes yes you can get it on linux) and Perl has clearly already lost to PHP in the cross-platform server-side web programming arena.

Since PHP runs on basically every platform you can run a web server on, and the fact that most web servers on the internet are Linux (or UNIX) based, I don't see PHP losing any "steam" anytime soon. PHP will probably only become more and more popular.

iamsam · #14 (**permalink**) 06-20-09, 19:55

How about Ruby on Rails and Python as alternatives to PHP? Java can also work as a server side language via JavaServer Pages (JSP).

I think PHP won't be replaced as the number one server side scripting language until web servers include out-of-the-box support for alternative languages. Well, okay, Python already runs on Apache using mod_python. Few seem to use it, though.

JeremyWJ · #15 (**permalink**) 06-20-09, 20:28

Yes, you are right that Java can be run server side and there are others like Python (along with about 100 others neither you or I mentioned) but Java and Python running server-side for web-sites don't even come close to the numbers that PHP, ASP, and maybe an honorable mention to Perl holds. Thus I see it as moot to even mention JSP and Python as potential languages that threaten PHP.

Edit: The reason I didn't mention Java being able to be run on servers is because I found it pretty clear he meant normal client-side Java. Especially since he mentioned AJAX which really told me he had server-side and client-side confused.

Windac · #16 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 18:51

I agree with all the people that still support php. It is not losing popularity. People are simply experimenting with other languages and chosing what suits them best. It would be hard to replace PHP completely in such a short period of time. As for .NET, they've said that it will be the main language soon for many years now...and I still see little truth in this.

BlueGigs · #17 (**permalink**) 07-08-09, 20:58

I don't think PHP is going anywhere. Although I'm a novice when it comes to coding, I picked up the basics of PHP in a relatively short period of time (mostly from studying sample code) and managed to learn everything I needed to know to make significant edits and add numerous new features to an existing website within months.

I've heard that Perl is considerably more difficult to learn and apply, and I can't imagine trying to learn it using only online resources, like I did with PHP. I think ease of use is an important factor.

Christina · #18 (**permalink**) 07-09-09, 09:52

Yes, I agree with you Perl is very messy and can become quite unreadable. But when it is compared to PHP, it is very powerful. It allows you to do powerful coding in a very short coding segments.

RichardM · #19 (**permalink**) 07-09-09, 10:23

PHP is simple, robust, interfaces beautifully with MySQL, and was designed from its beginnings as a scripting language for Web applications. But it's also slower than Perl, has too many overlapping functions, lacks abstraction, and has many other limitations compared to Perl.

Perl is a more well-developed programming language, can simplify the development of very large sites or complex applications, and is interpreted faster than PHP. Its endless supply of modules can simplify complex programming tasks. But on the other hand, Perl is also more complex, somewhat more difficult to learn, and sometimes can complicate simple tasks that would be a breeze using PHP.

My opinion? Both are excellent and exciting languages. But neither is "better" than the other. It's like comparing a jet airplane to a helicopter: Both are good for their respective purposes, but neither is inherently "better" than the other.

-Richard

JeremyWJ · #20 (**permalink**) 07-09-09, 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christina

Yes, I agree with you Perl is very messy and can become quite unreadable. But when it is compared to PHP, it is very powerful. It allows you to do powerful coding in a very short coding segments.

I'm sorry, but I have to completely disagree with you on Perl being more powerful than PHP.

In fact, in many areas, Perl just can't do things PHP can do as well as PHP can.

1) PHP can be embedded in HTML, Perl can not be.

2) PHP is generally secure, Perl is a lot less secure.

3) PHP has great built-in database support, Perl does not.

4) PHP code is very organized. By this I mean its consistent. Perl is a mess.

5) Generally PHP is much faster than Perl.

When it comes to writing dynamic code for websites, honestly, there is no better language out there than PHP.

PHP does everything Perl does (and more), so your statement about Perl being more powerful is incorrect.

Since PHP has those 5 things I just mentioned over Perl, and the fact that it is much easier to write, and it runs on almost any platform (as does Perl), I see PHP going no where.

In fact, this is kind of a stupid topic considering current trends show more and more web developers switching to PHP.