It is not that difficult to find comparisons between ASP.NET and PHP in the internet. As a matter of fact, it’s all over the internet with two factions defending both these technologies and attempting to put down the other. The real question should be where these technologies are best suited rather than which one comes out on top. Both ASP.NET development services and PHP development services enjoy great demand in the market today. Let’s explore the core features of both languages.
Microsoft ASP.NET
The development languages for the open source ASP.NET includes VB.NET, C#, C#.NET, and F#, and uses tools like Visual Studio and Mono to develop high performance websites. The server OS is of course Microsoft Windows, and it shares a syntax similar to VB. Despite being open source, ASP.NET isn’t technically free as there are quite a few associated costs.
PHP
A full open source scripting language, PHP leverages tools like PhpStorm, NetBeans, and various other editors. It is compatible with servers running on Linux, mac, or Windows, and comes with a syntax similar to C and C++ languages. PHP is free to use, and a large community backing it with technical support.
Choosing between ASP.NET and PHP
To reach a conclusion, it’s better to compare the most important aspects of both ASP.NET and PHP.
Scalability
Considering the fact that the scalability of a web application depends on the expertise of the programmers, the coding standards, the development framework, and programming practices and guidelines, both PHP and ASP.NET are fully capable of delivering highly scalable web applications.
Performance
There is a wrong notion that the performance and speed of a website or web app depends on the platform. PHP sites and ASP.NET sites rival each other when it comes to performance as both are capable of running routine processes and delivering desired results quickly.
As for the speed, it also depends on various other factors like database server, end-user’s computer hardware power and bandwidth. For the application to possess considerable speed, the code should be written well and the architecture should be implemented the right way.
Support
PHP is slightly ahead when it comes to support, owing to the larger pool of developers and an ever-growing community. ASP.NET is not far behind however as Microsoft invests a lot in supporting most of its technologies for website and software development, and the community is as helpful as the ASP.NET community. For developers with technical queries, the PHP community would still respond faster owing to its sheer volume of dedicated developers.
Cost
Despite the open source license, ASP.NET is still a Microsoft product and there are obviously going to be associated costs. PHP, however, is completely free. ASP.NET requires Windows OS running on the machine, which was considered to be more expensive than using the open source Linux OS which PHP supports. However, Microsoft’s recently made Windows hosting much less costly – now almost equivalent to the expense of Linux hosting.
But when it comes to professional web development, ASP.NET requires Visual Studio. Though a free version called VS Express is available for beginners, the IDE won’t cut it for professional development of sophisticated web applications. PHP, on the other hand, supports a variety of great IDEs – both free and paid.
Suitability
While PHP is ideal for smaller business websites, billing websites, and startups, ASP.NET is what companies rely on for enterprise-level websites and ERP apps. ASP.NET can also be used to build enterprise-class CRM systems, while PHP can be used for less complex CRMs.
Conclusion
All these points make choosing between the two quite challenging. But ultimately, a developing a good product cost-effectively depends on the development team’s strengths. If your developers are experts in the most popular Microsoft Technology, ASP.NET development would certainly be cost effective. Its rival, PHP, is not a slouch either provided the suitability of the application language is analyzed beforehand.
