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ASP.NET vs PHP: Which is Better for Web Development?

It might be quite a challenging task to select the right technology stack for the next web development project. Even though some framework or programming language was a perfect match for other projects, the final choice should definitely correspond to the ongoing needs. Due to the wide range of technologies, the companies have to do their own research to make the final decision. In this article, we’ll define important details in the light of ASP.NET vs PHP comparison as the current market trends for web development.

There is a growing tendency to deliver progressive web applications that will empower user experience and engagement as well as facilitate the development process. The market requirements are growing extremely fast and it is obvious that the right technology stack could make a difference to the project. According to statistics, most market share of the back-end technologies is gained by two programming languages – PHP and ASP.NET.

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ASP.NET AND WEB DEVELOPMENT

ASP.NET is a C# based server-side web application framework. It was introduced by Microsoft in the early 2000s as an extension to the .NET platform. This framework offers a variety of libraries and tools, particularly for web development. Moreover, any other packages available on the .NET platform like Visual Studio can be comfortably used by web developers.

Previously, ASP.NET web applications ran only on the Microsoft servers that usually require higher hosting fees. With the new version of ASP.NET Core released in 2016, software engineers are able to apply for Linux and macOS hosting services. In the light of ASP.NET and web development connection, we can infer that this framework provides a reasonable solution and has a number of advantages to be chosen for the next project.

IS ASP.NET GOOD FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT

In fact, any web technology can be an excellent choice for the project whenever it meets the set expectations. Giving a comprehensive answer on the question “why use ASP.NET for web development?’’, we would like to define the most important aspects that should be taken into account.

To start with, ASP.NET is a mature framework that has been on the market for more than a few decades. In comparison to other frameworks, it has gained a decent market share and continues to strengthen them through constant evolvement. Today’s community consists of more than 60,000 developers all around the world. While being an open-source framework, it is also strongly supported by Microsoft and known for active community support. This tight cooperation leads to the accessibility of different libraries and clear guidelines. Microsoft invests significant amounts of resources in the development of their platforms and community support. There are no worries that they would suggest some outdated approaches.

Previously developers had to purchase IDEs to write the code. Nowadays, free tools and libraries are accessible to everyone. However, It is common that professional development companies will pay for additional licenses to get more functionality. Moreover, all web software requires the hosting servers. Windows hosting is more expensive in comparison with Linux servers. Also, there is Microsoft IIS that is free for different versions of Microsoft windows.

As a result, ASP.NET web development services have become a great solution for many companies due to great functionality, security and regular improvements.

PHP WEB DEVELOPMENT

PHP as a server-side web development language has evolved from the small open-source project. It was created in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf who wrote a few CGI programs and managed to make them work with web forms and databases. He hasn’t aimed to create a new programming language but it turned to become among one of the biggest open-source languages. Anyone can make a contribution to the new release including task deployment, testing, documentation, and sources.

The PHP community has various open-source free libraries, tools and extensions. For example MySQL Extension, it allows developers to create PHP apps that interact with the database while enabling improved statement and transaction support.

In the light of ASP vs PHP comparison, the PHP developers deal with the other type of code – interpreted one that is completely written in C. It allows excellent customization nevertheless that might be the cause for some bugs and poor coding.

Since this server-side language was initially released for web development, it is efficient in communicating and accessing most types of databases. Due to its adaptability and flexibility, developers are not limited in their choice. Moreover, PHP can have support for other services covering different protocols like POP3, HTTP, IMAP, LDAP, etc.

Consequently, being open-sourced turned out to be a great solution for the PHP web development community. They have gained the biggest market share and keep on the constant improvements and regular releases.

WHY WE USE PHP FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT

The first reason why we use PHP for web development is that this programming language has been initially presented as a web scripting language. It is greatly supported and improved by own community that consists of more than 5 million PHP developers. The open-source programming language is quite popular among newcomers and has gained the biggest market share. Its supportive community keeps on growing for more than 25 years.

Working with the open source has its own advantages and disadvantages. In fact, this language is easy to learn, compatible with different servers and suitable for various web applications. Another distinction of PHP development is the interpreted code. This type of code is usually executed on the server, later generated into HTML and only then sent to the user side. Accordingly, the execution time is longer and might get some errors with importing heavy files and lead to slower performance compared to other languages.

On the other side, PHP web development is often chosen for increased scalability. This is accomplished by adding more servers. The overall workload will be distributed between them and can handle more user requests. This approach relies upon the horizontal scalability that differs PHP from ASP.NET.

Lower development and maintenance cost is usually acknowledged as a great benefit. PHP developers have access to all the tools and libraries without any additional fees. Moreover, developers can choose among the different hosting services and have the opportunity to pay less.

This adaptable and flexible programming language can easily meet the primary needs for web development. However, the companies need to outline their needs at first and make sure it corresponds to the set requirements and final goals.

ASP.NET VS PHP

Any company starting the web development project can come across this common question – ASP.NET vs PHP: which is better. There is no doubt that each approach has own benefits. Moreover, they have worked efficiently for different projects and companies are really satisfied with the final results.

The point is that the company needs to address the ASP.NET vs PHP choice from a different perspective – which is better for their project, what points are the main concern. You can take simple advice – all the requirements should be divided into business and technology aspects. It is obvious that there is no point to choose some technology that has a great market share but doesn’t meet any of your technical requirements.

Let’s consider some important factors in the light of ASP.NET vs PHP business side.

Both technologies have been presented on the market a long time ago and gained special recognition among web developers. Since PHP was released earlier and was presented initially as the web programming language, its community was increasing faster than ASP.NET’s. At present, there is a high market demand for these developers as SPA and SaaS applications are the new default business standard.

In terms of support, developers are offered totally different approaches. As mentioned above, while open-source too, ASP.NET is supported by Microsoft, whereas PHP is the pure open-source project. The community support is always great, however, some complicated projects might require professional help and immediate solutions.

You can find many well-known companies among the users of these web approaches. For instance, UPS, Stack Overflow, DELL are applying ASP.NET whereas Facebook, WordPress, and Wikipedia are practicing PHP web development.

Making your final ASP.NET vs PHP choice mostly relies on the technology sides that influence the overall app functionality. It requires more detailed research to understand your options to fulfill ideas in the most appropriate way.

Performance is the key requirement for any project. Everyone wants to deliver a fast and efficient solution for their users. ASP.NET would be the definite winner here as the compiled coding is more accurate and systematic.

PHP is an open-source programming language that does not require paid tools or licenses. However, the additional expenses spent on ASP.NET development are definitely worth it due to improved functionality and high quality.

IN CONCLUSION

We have gathered the most important details that usually influence the choice of the web development strategy. The main thing to remember that each method has significant benefits to be chosen. Always take a moment to outline your project needs. The ASP.NET vs PHP choice would be simplified if the company sets certain requirements and finds reasonable ways to meet them. Another great decision will be to consult some professionals that have experience in web development.