Comment by Marco Alka on "NodeJS vs PHP: Which is an easy option for building backend?"

Imho, PHP is the right way to go. It is fairly easy to install XAMPP or WPN-XM and just start writing what you are used to: HTML. Once you want to ad something server-side, you can add it as you progress, easily understanding why it makes sense to do so and instantly seeing the results!

not really. it's not 1996. Usually your answers are more accurate.... and not so bluntly opinionated.

@chilimatic I don't think my answer is that opinionated, though. Also I fail to see how 1996 would make a difference... Maybe you could elaborate on your comment?

PHP by itself is a preprocessor for HTML (it's in the name). NodeJS is a VM+stdlib created around application development, including (and maybe originally even focused on) but not limited to web development. PHP needs to have cgi set up, but that's the hoster's job. NodeJS requires you to write the setup code to be able to use anything web related at all. PHP files are HTML plus code. JS files are always code, not HTML. If you want to prepare NodeJS to work similar to a PHP setup, you need to put in effort, using frameworks and build steps. As such, imho, PHP is far simpler and I would choose it for a simple website anyday over NodeJS

valid point.

PHP is way easier than NodeJS, because it only exists to enrich HTML with some dynamic behavior

PHP by itself is a preprocessor for HTML (it's in the name)

Because in 1996 PHP was mainly a preprocessor.

The hoster CGI setup I agree with, that it's possible to use it as a preprocesser I agree with but

NodeJS, on the other side, is a complete VM, which allows you to create nearly any application.

PHP is the same. I wouldn't do it in either languages but they are both complete VMs, which allow you to create nearly any application. I don't say you should do it but it's possible.

It requires you to create a webserver before you can even start delivering any HTML.

PHP too it's just more commonly used on shared hosters.

I don't disagree on PHP is commonly easier to access, but I am using PHP for over 10 years now and I never except in school worked for a company that used PHP only as a preprocessor, We wrote shitty distributed systems with own socket implementations, job schedulers, CLI tools and other profanities we should be ashamed of with such a language.

As node does right now, it's fascinating to watch from the outside (this is just my opinion ofc).

The point is yes PHP is easier to access in general, good point. It is request response based hence it takes away the complexity of "keeping things alive" that would be good point. pseudo-"stateless" one might argue.

But they are as shitty to setup if you got no clue. And any online tutorial will do the trick nowadays.

or do you disagree with anything in particular ?

do you disagree with anything in particular ?

I am amazed at how people twisted PHP to abuse it for their problem o_O Well, I think that we agree (to a certain degree) that PHP is more accessible. As for the tutorial part, I remember having difficulties wrapping my head around the concept of NodeJS for some time before the pieces fell into place, because it is so different from writing a response-based application.

I will update my answer a bit. Re-reading it, I think I really left out quite a bit of information as to why I suggest going for PHP over NodeJS (sry)

One thing that makes PHP so useful is that it's designed so you can create a folder, create a PHP file, and access it via the browser and it Just Works™. You don't have to start an application server for each folder you want to work in, you don't need a magic file (package.json) in order to be read, it just works.

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