Node vs PHP

Is anyone here prefers Node over PHP for Backend?

Comments

[Ibne Nahian]

PHP vs Node is not a valid comparison. PHP is a language whereas Node is a JS runtime. PHP seems little primitive to me. Node is more efficient for Asynchronous / Non Blocking systems. Node is basically a good VM lacking a good language.

[mabalashov]

Node is the best for BFF applications
PHP is the best for enterprise application with a lot of business logic

You should choose the platform for your current aims

You should choose NodeJS if:

• you are going to create a small application for one evening
• you have no experience in backend and you need a server part for your frontend
• you have a lot of IO (ex. sockets) in application
• you have enough experience in both technologies and you understand the pros and cons of each one

In other cases (especially if you want your application to be secure and reliable) you should choose PHP

Long story short, the main differences are:

• PHP dies after each request => you should care less about memory leaking and secure. But each request is more expensive in PHP if we are talking about performance
• It is easier to write clear code in PHP because of the mature environment and language-specific features. PHP is a really OOP language. Yes, JS has TypeScript but it is simpler to use C# instead of TS

[Aleksey Razbakov]

I am doing my project with Node already more than a year now. Cloud functions in Firebase and REST with Express. It got wild and chaotic. I can't get it organized. I can't even test it properly. While at work I am getting deeper with Symfony, which got all those Bundles, Interfaces, DI.

So I am hesitating now on how to proceed. I want to get most of logic out of cloud functions and do them as microservices. What I want to achieve is a good logging and some admin panel to be able to navigate quickly and flexible through the data. So far I understand that the best way to connect microservices is through some kind of queue and state machine. Firebase has a big limitation on filtering (which I need most for admin) and I am afraid I can't control the costs (it can get wild with more data), so I want to move all logic on own server and be able limit what and when to process. So far all triggers are on onWrite functions of Firestore documents. So it can get out of control real quick. I haven't found yet any alternative to Symfony in Node yet, that can allow me to do all the things. Neither I can migrate 100% to PHP, because there are some packages that only available in Node.

After a while working with Firebase it gets annoying, because you have to find workarounds to build your data model. Normalized thinking from MySQL you can forget right away. Neither NoSQL thinking works, because Firebase is not flexible enough with queries.

It's very painful and annoying. I already have an idea how to build it with API Platform in a way, but I want to give it a chance everything based on Node. Unfortunately I can't find good examples of something complex built on Node and it's like walking around and trying to find all the small pieces first and build a new thing. That always felt wrong in PHP world. There is always something working out there, some framework, some concept, some structure. In Node it feels like lots of small libraries which do the same thing and have releases faster than I deploy a new version of the app. And sometimes projects just get archived without any explanation of what happened.

I still have hopes that I have wrong perception and it's just takes time to learn and find a right thing.

[Segun Olaiya]

I prefer PHP. As much as I use node (express, adonisJs etc) perhaps it could be because of my experience, I think until I have specific requirements that requires the strengths of node, I would choose Laravel everytime.

I love node no doubt, but I seem to have enjoyed alot or stability in my existing PHP backend systems.

[Matas Lesinskas]

In short it depends. Use node.js if you work with real-time socket io app, event based system or with multiple threads.
That might be simpler than trying to achieve something like that in php.
On another hand php let's you write really nice run and exit programs faster. Also with php it's really nice to work in oop and with variables, because you don't need to handle undefined, null and other similar problems. Also I like php arrays and JavaScript fuckery kind of sucks.

Overall I use php on large projects where I need stable and secure system.

Node.js is kind of new and still you can't trust it on Enterprise level.

If you read somewhere that php is insecure it's wrong. People who never worked in php and back end wrote it or they are just script kiddes who used old WordPress and got spam and viruses inserted. Tho we can all agree WordPress is trash. Why they still use plain php for templates? Lol.

[Aleksey Razbakov]

The best answer so far! What do you think of Prisma or some Headless CMS, would you consider it as an alternative to API Platform?

[sinapis]

The question should be the other way around.

Node has:

1. The larger (if not largest) eco system
2. Better performance
3. Better tooling. Code navigation + refactoring is top notch when using Typescript. Git integration, linting, code coverage, testing, package management etc. Are also the same or better.
4. Same language as the front-end we all use.
5. Anything you can implement with php, you can implement with typescript.

Now, what does PHP has to offer?

[Su_Do]

Node

[Michael J. Ryan]

You mean do I prefer a better language, in a more consistent platform, with the largest third party developer ecosystem software has ever seen?

Yes. Personally, I cannot stand PHP. Nearly every common complaint about JS applies to PHP and then some.

[Patryk]

Python 🐍🐍🐍

Want sink included? Django 😍😍

Want something lightweight? Flask 🤙

PHP should be relegated to legacy software from 2003. 💩💩💩

Don't know enough about node to judge, but JavaScript is nice.

[Michael J. Ryan]

Python is cool... There are some interesting libraries for rust as well. I tend to favor node myself. I've never liked PHP, not to mention node/js jobs tend to pay better, especially if you're experienced with react.