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Python vs. PHP

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Common Ground

Both PHP and Python:

Compared as Languages

What does PHP have that Python doesn't?

What does Python have that PHP doesn't?

Compared as Web Development Frameworks

Unlike PHP, which has web development features built directly into the core language, Python's web development capabilites are provided by add-on modules. Basic CGI capabilities are provided by the 'cgi' module which comes in Python's standard library. There's also a wide range of third-party modules available for Python; some are complementary, others compete. As a result, Python provides a more flexible base for web development.

There are some adverse side effects of this flexibility. First, the range of choices can be bewildering. Unless you are working experienced Python web developers, PHP is easier to get started with. Second, support for PHP is more common with shared-hosting companies than support for the various Python options.

Another difference is that PHP is embedded in the web server, whereas Python web applications can either be embedded in the web server like PHP or run in a separate process. Here's a simple classification of Python web development platforms:

(Note: PHP programs can be run standalone or as ordinary CGI scripts. However, when called indirectly from the web (eg. from a Perl CGI script), it requires unsetting an undocumented number of web environment variables so that PHP doesn't think it's running from the web and look in the wrong place for the script. Likewise, it's possible to write a long-running server in PHP, but there are precious few examples of it.)

The vast majority of Python Web applications are run in a separate process. This has some important implications.

Security

Here's some interesting notes on security in PHP: http://www.securereality.com.au/studyinscarlet.txt

Community Support

PHP

Python

Commercial Support

PHP

Python

See the ["CommercialServices"] page for more information.

Documentation

Although both PHP and Python have excellent core documentation, Python's is more extensive and generally higher quality. PHP has a large number of translations available. Python doesn't. For PHP see http://www.php.net/docs.php and for Python see http://python.org/doc/ Python allows documentation on modules, classes, and functions to be included in the program code. The documentation becomes an attribute of the module/class/function, accessible from inside of the language itself. Python manual is really awfully structurized and presented compared to PHP manual, which uses cross-links, a lot of colorized examples and invaluable user comments to make it easier to comprehend the magic. PHP manual merges different versions of the language together making it a little bit bloated.

Editorial Notes

Given the copy-and-paste origins of this document, along with the age of the original document, the text has been somewhat incoherent. Several changes have since been made to tidy up the text, drop redundant content (old comments which can be viewed in the original document, links to outdated resources and content found elsewhere in this Wiki), and to focus the remaining content on the actual topic of the page.

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