PHP and ASP.NET are two of the most popular languages that are widely used for writing web applications. Both these languages have developed their own user base depending upon their features and advantages they offer. Let us make a comparison between both these languages to make it easier for you to choose your desired web technology depending upon the kind of web project you are working on –
Ease: For most developers, especially newbies learning PHP is easier as compared to learning ASP.NET. Since ASP.NET is regularly updated by Microsoft, it becomes necessary to keep yourself up-to-date with all the latest updates.
Compatibility with Earlier Versions: ASP.NET had changed very rapidly over a period of few years, including huge change in its syntax as well. Therefore, the programs written using ASP.NET are less compatible with their earlier versions. However, the changes in PHP are not that rigorous and therefore the program developed using PHP are backward compatible.
Documentation: Both the languages have very rich documentation available online. You can find all the documentation about PHP at www.php.net whereas you can find the same for ASP.NET at the MSDN library.
Compatibility: Both ASP.NET and PHP are compatible with databases, such as Oracle, Sybase, MySQL, MSSQL Server, etc. However, ASP.NET being a product of Microsoft is found to be more compatible with its products like MS ACCESS, and MSSQL Server; thus reducing its compatibility with other vendor’s databases.
Availability: PHP is clearly an open-source language and therefore many PHP software and applications are available as open-source. Whereas, ASP.NET is not an open-source language limiting the number of open-source applications to very few.
Software Platforms Compatibility: PHP can successfully work on a number of software platforms, including Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Solaris. However, ASP.NET being a product of Microsoft is only compatible with various versions of Windows operating system.
Cost: PHP being an open-source is obviously cheaper to use as compared to ASP.NET.