A question that bothers many programmers is whether to choose PHP or .NET programming? PHP Vs .NET appears to be a battle of heavyweights. While PHP is one of the most popular programming languages on the internet with millions of fans and dedicated programmers, .NET is backed by none other than the IT giant Microsoft.

Here are few factors on the basis of which the two can be compared to find out the one that suits you the best:

PHP or .NET Programming?

1. Costs

It is anybody’s guess that PHP defeats .NET hands down when it comes to cost. This is because PHP is completely free and runs on Linux hosting, Mac or Windows besides having a number of Integrated Development Environments while .NET being a Microsoft product has certain associated costs. This is because .NET can be used only on a Windows machine and hence you need to buy Windows in order to be able use it. .NET requires Windows hosting which used to be quite expensive until a few years ago. If you are a beginner, you may not need to shell out any extra bucks but once you feel the need to upgrade, you will need something like Visual Studio which can rob you of a few hundred dollars.

2. Scalability

Both the languages have high scalability. The fact that Facebook was built in PHP and was the second most trafficked website in the world before it dethroned MySpace which was built in .NET to become the most visited website bears ample testimony to the fact that both the platforms are highly scalable provided the programmer knows how to scale the application. Both the languages stand on an equal footing as far as scalability is concerned.

3. Performance

Performance of most of the web applications depends on the interaction between the database, server and the script. Most of the applications in PHP follow Linux Operating System, MySQL database, Apache server and PHP as the scripting language; popularly known as LAMP stack. Due to the popularity of LAMP in web development applications, PHP has been extensively optimised for performance.

.NET uses MSSQL(Microsoft SQL) as database although My SQL can also be used with it. Although the difference in performance between .NET + MSSQL combination and PHP + MySQL combination is very miniscule, PHP + MySQL does have an edge.

Another performance affecting factor is the OS and the file system that is used by the server. It has been found that Linux and ext4 files have a better I/O performance compared to Windows and NTFS file system. Therefore there is a bright chance that a PHP application that is running on Linux hosting outperforms a similar .NET application on Windows host. It hence goes without saying that PHP wins the performance round.

4. Support

The fact that PHP is free makes it a popular language online. Besides, it also has an open source community of developers who keep contributing to its development. This community of developers is a great support especially for beginners.

.NET being a Microsoft property has a less vibrant community of developers and contributors. While you will find a number of developer boards run by .NET enthusiasts, PHP far outruns their number and support.

So will you go for PHP or .NET programming? Take into consideration the information above to make a wise and informed decision.

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