There has been a consistent evolution of backend development since the dawn of the dot-com era. It has gone beyond just storing and accessing information from a database to much more complexities such as performance optimization, microservices, serverless architecture, authentication and authorisation, encryption and server-side security.
There has also been the proliferation of programming languages which offer flexibility, scalability and memory safety for building backend applications.
For well over a decade, PHP has powered millions of websites, applications and ecommerce platforms across the internet. The programming language has been popularised by frameworks such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Symfony etc. While the programming language and its frameworks have matured with an active community of developers, however, it may not be the best choice for certain backend projects due to its inherent limitations.
In recent years, we have noticed the rise of Google-backed programming language, Dart, as an alternative to building backend applications. It is a C-style compiled language that offers object-oriented capabilities and speed over interpreted languages like PHP.
Table of Contents
- Type System and Language Features
- Concurrency and Async Programming
- Performance
- Backend Framework Ecosystem
- Real-world Scalability and Case Studies
- Cross-Platform Potential
- Migration Strategies for PHP Developers
- Conclusion
TL;DR
Quick Comparison Overview
- Type System and Language Features:
Dart offers a more robust, compile-time type-safe system with native null safety, while PHP provides evolving but less comprehensive type checking. - Concurrency and Async Programming:
Dart provides native, efficient async/await with lightweight isolates for parallel processing, compared to PHP's more complex and limited concurrency model. - Performance:
Dart delivers superior performance through AOT compilation and native machine code generation, whereas PHP relies on interpreted execution with recent JIT improvements. - Backend Framework Ecosystem:
PHP boasts a mature, extensive framework landscape, while Dart offers modern, performance-oriented frameworks with growing ecosystem support. - Real-World Scalability:
PHP demonstrates proven scalability through extensive enterprise adoption, but Dart represents a next-generation approach with superior concurrent processing capabilities.
Key Takeaway
Dart emerges as a modern, high-performance alternative to PHP, offering more robust type safety, efficient async processing, and a forward-looking approach to backend development.
Who Should Consider Dart?
- Developers seeking high-performance backends
- Teams prioritizing type safety and modern language features
- Projects requiring efficient concurrent processing
- Organizations looking to modernize their technology stack
Type System and Language Features
PHP, an open source server-side scripting language, is dynamically typed with newer versions of the language having type declarations, Enum support and more. However, there is no strict implementation of null safety.
On the other hand, Dart was designed from ground up to be statically typed with null safety builtin. This prevents null exceptions at compile time. Type inference and generics are also a core feature of the programming language.
Concurrency and Async Programming
Traditionally, PHP does not support true concurrency, developers have to rely on external libraries and tools to get a workaround. There is limited native support for parallel programming, most tasks are executed synchronously by default. I/O processes are blocking by nature in the scripting language. Asynchronous programming is achieved through callbacks and promises which can quickly become unmanageable and unreadable.
Dart comes with native support for async/wait and isolates for parallel programming. Its event-driven architecture makes it a good choice for tasks that require concurrent execution. I/O operations are non-blocking which results in faster execution time.
Performance
Being an interpreted language means that PHP does not offer the best in terms of execution speed. Despite the implementation of JIT (Just-In-Time) compilation, in PHP 8.x which brings a boost in performance, it is still slower than traditionally compiled languages. It is best suited for lightweight I/O operations like rendering of webpages.
Non-blocking asynchronous I/O operations are natively supported in Dart, making it faster for handling multiple simultaneous tasks. Latency in real-time applications is reduced due to the event-driven architecture. The efficiency of the garbage collection minimises memory overhead.
Backend Framework Ecosystem
Since its launch, PHP and its frameworks have become matured and well established. Millions of business websites are powered by web development frameworks built on PHP. There is also a large community of developers across each framework which has made the programming languages a top choice to learn. Some of the popular ones being Laravel, Symfony, Magento, CodeIgniter etc. It has a rich built-in ecosystem of libraries, plugins, ORMs, and templates.
Dart for backend development is somewhat emerging over the recent years. The ecosystem is growing with the emergence of web frameworks like Shelf, Aqueduct, DartStream, Serverpod, Dartfrog etc. Most tooling and packages are integrated with Dart's package manager (pub).
Real-world Scalability and Case Studies
As much as PHP has its drawbacks, however, applications built using the programming language have been scaled horizontally through the use of load balancers and a distributed system. Large scale web applications powered by PHP have been known to scale to accommodate more users. For better concurrency, tools like Swoole and ReactPHP are used.
It is a well-known fact that the early version of Facebook was powered by PHP with millions of users across the world. Popular CMS platforms like WordPress and Drupal are written in PHP.
Scalability can be achieved effortlessly in Dart because of its built-in support for microservices. There is also a modern implementation of distributed systems within the emerging programming language. Dart isolates are ideal for building CPU-intensive applications and parallel computing. Google Ad backend service and a part of Alibaba's backend services are implemented in Dart.
These services handle millions of traffic from users’ across the globe. This is an indicator on how scalable Dart can be for building enterprise applications.
Cross-Platform Potential
There is very limited cross-platform potential with PHP. The language was created as a server-side scripting language, hence, it has limited capabilities for cross platform support. It is good for building backend services that interact with browsers.
As part of its core design, Dart was made to be a multi-platform programming language supporting web, mobile (Android/iOS) Desktop and backend development. Cross-platform development is faster as it allows a shared codebase for mobile, web, and backend. It is best suited for cross-platform apps where backend, frontend, and mobile share a unified stack.
Migration Strategies for PHP Developers
Here a few things to consider when migrating from PHP to Dart ecosystem:
- Start Small: Begin with small backend projects using Dart frameworks like Shelf, DartStream or Aqueduct. Experiment with APIs or microservices to understand Dart's async model and type safety.
- Learn the Language: Familiarize yourself with Dart’s syntax, null safety, and async/await model. Leverage official resources like dart.dev.
- Framework Familiarity: Map concepts from PHP frameworks (e.g., Laravel’s routing, ORM) to Dart’s tools. Use Shelf or DartStream for lightweight APIs or Aqueduct for full-featured backend setups.
- Unified Development: Explore Flutter for frontend, enabling a full-stack Dart workflow. Build a shared Dart codebase for frontend and backend to maximize efficiency.
- Gradual Transition: Use Dart for new features or services alongside existing PHP infrastructure. Slowly phase out PHP components as your team gains confidence with Dart.
- Leverage Community and Tools: Join Dart forums, communities, and explore open-source tools for backend development. Use Dart’s CLI and testing tools to streamline your workflow.
Conclusion
Dart and PHP cater to different backend needs. PHP, a mature server-side language, excels in web development with its robust frameworks like Laravel and Symfony. However, it struggles with concurrency and scalability without external tools. Dart, with its modern, statically-typed language and built-in support for async programming, offers superior performance and scalability for real-time and API-driven applications. Its cross-platform capabilities enable unified development for backend, mobile, and web through frameworks like Shelf and Flutter. For developers seeking modern features, scalability, and a unified stack, Dart is an excellent alternative to PHP.
