PHP
PHP is a great language for quick, small-scale Web development.
Advantages
- Rapid interface design: Web-based interfaces, especially those involving database interaction, can be programmed fairly rapidly using PHP. Also, a PHP interpreter is built into the Web server Apache, which means that PHP uses fewer system resources (RAM, processing power, etc.) than languages like Perl.
Disadvantages
- Users see errors first: PHP is generally used as a scripting language, meaning that the code is embedded right in the Web page. That makes it less robust and more prone to error, because unless you’ve tested carefully, an error can crop up and you won’t know it until the user sees a strange message on the screen.
- Security requires careful testing: PHP’s scripting nature also makes it difficult to test. There are numerous security issues that can crop up in PHP programs, as PHP sometimes makes things easier for the programmer at the cost of security and precision.
Choosing PHP
PHP is best for administrative interfaces that are small and moderate in size, and for websites that require modest amounts of programming. Most smaller open source software projects use PHP.
PHP is generally not used for huge, mission-critical systems. However, there do exist PHP frameworks (pre-existing structures) that make larger programs easier to create.
