PHP vs Rust | Popularity, Salary, Performance, Features, and Applications
If you are interested in web development and you want to work on full-stack web applications of any kind, you learn PHP over Rust.
PHP is a popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to web development. It is fast, flexible, and pragmatic.
PHP powers the backend of more websites on the internet than the rest of the server-side programming languages put together.
According to W3Techs, PHP is used by 77.4% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know.
On the other hand, if you are interested in building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, webAssembly, or systems programming, you should learn Rust over PHP
Rust is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language that emphasizes performance, type safety, and concurrency.
Comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use for your next project can be tricky.
There are many factors to consider in order to choose the right programming language for the job you want to do.
Popularity, opportunities, type of projects, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use.
Here are some of the comparisons and considerations you should make when choosing to learn a new programming language.
PHP VS RUST POPULARITY
Comparing the popularity of programming languages is not an easy task because each programming language is different.
Although the usage of many programming languages may intersect, different fields and projects may require the use of different programming languages.
Plus, other programming languages have been around for a longer time than others, giving them more time to be tried and tested, so, bear that in mind.
If you want to learn a programming language solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn PHP over Rust.
Generally, PHP is more popular than Rust. As of July 2023, the TIOBE INDEX ranks PHP as the 9th most popular programming language while Rust is ranked as the 17th most popular programming language.
According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2023, PHP is the 11th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 18.58% of developers.
On the other hand, Rust is the 14th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 13.05% of developers according to the same survey.
Rust has been the most loved programming language for seven years straight. As of 2022, Rust was loved by 86.73% of developers versus 13.27% of developers who dreaded it.
In 2023, Rust is the most admired programming language. It is admired by 84.66% of developers. On the other hand, PHP is admired by 41.83% of developers.
Ultimately, if your choice of which programming language to learn depends on popularity, you should learn PHP over Rust.
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PHP VS RUST SALARY
Another popular criterion that many people use to compare programming languages and as an incentive to learn a new programming language is salary.
Salaries for developers differ from one company to the other and from one country to the other.
Experience is another factor that comes into play as far as salaries are concerned.
The more experience you have with a certain technology or programming language, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.
Generally, Rust developers get higher salaries than PHP developers. The 2023 Stack Overflow survey of top-paying programming languages revealed that Rust developers get a median salary of $87,012 per year.
On the other hand, PHP developers get a median salary of $58,899 per year, about $28,100 less than Rust developers.
So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a programming language, you should learn Rust over PHP, because you are more likely to get a higher salary as a Rust developer than as a PHP developer.
Here are 10 Programming Languages that Pay more than $90,000
IS PHP EASIER THAN RUST
Yes, PHP is generally easier to learn than Rust. PHP is also a more relaxed language, with a more informal syntax.
As a result, PHP is often seen as a good choice for beginners who are new to programming.
PHP is a more forgiving language, with fewer rules and restrictions. However, it is these fewer rules and restrictions that makes it very easy to write spaghetti code.
On the other hand, Rust has a steeper learning curve compared to PHP due to its focus on low-level programming concepts.
Rust can be quite challenging, especially for complete beginners. Some Rust concepts like ownership and borrowing add a little bit of complexity to the language.
But if you are familiar with systems programming, you will find Rust very easy and straightforward.
Especially when you are targeting low-resource devices, Rust will give you low-level control without giving up high-level conveniences, this makes it a little bit easy to work on systems.
The good news is that there are plenty of helpful resources for both PHP and Rust to help you learn the languages.
The PHP and Rust communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
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IS RUST SIMILAR TO PHP
No, Rust is not similar to PHP. Rust is a systems programming language that emphasizes safety, performance, and concurrency.
It is designed to build efficient, reliable, and secure software, especially in low-level systems and performance-critical applications.
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language primarily used for web development. It is commonly used to create dynamic web pages and server-side applications, focusing on ease of use and web-specific tasks.
PHP VS RUST PERFORMANCE
IS RUST FASTER THAN PHP
Yes, Rust is generally faster than PHP. If you plan on working on applications where top-notch performance is critical, you should learn Rust over PHP.
Rust is known for its emphasis on performance and control over system resources.
It provides fine-grained control over memory management, and its ownership system enforces strict rules that prevent common bugs like null pointer dereferences and data races.
Rust’s zero-cost abstractions allow you to write high-level code without sacrificing performance. It also provides advanced features for concurrent programming.
As a result, Rust is often chosen for systems programming, networking, embedded systems, and other performance-critical applications.
One of the best features of Rust is how it handles memory.
While developers have to manually handle memory management in languages like C++ or use a garbage collector with languages like PHP, Go, Java, Scala, Kotlin, etc. Rust takes a unique approach;
Developers can still handle memory without shooting themselves in the foot with a concept of ownership and borrowing. This makes it easy and quick to build reliable and efficient software.
Since Rust does not perform garbage collection, it is often faster than other memory-safe languages like PHP.
PHP VS RUST FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS
PHP
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language that is used to create dynamic web pages. It is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and power.
PHP code is usually processed on a web server by a PHP interpreter implemented as a module, a daemon or as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) executable.
PHP version 8 added Just-in-time (JIT) compilation, this can provide substantial performance improvements for some use cases.
Another advantage of PHP is how easy it is to embed PHP code in HTML documents. All you need are PHP opening and closing tags and you are good to go.
PHP is used by a lot of companies such as Facebook, WordPress, Mailchimp, Yahoo, Tumblr, Slack, Etsy, Wikipedia, Flickr, Fotolia, Baidu, Lift, and many others.
RUST
Rust has great unique features that make it suitable for building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, and more. One of the best features of Rust is how it handles memory.
Rust can power performance-critical services, run on embedded devices, and easily integrate with other languages.
Rust can interface with other programming languages such as C and C++, it has a foreign function interface that can be used to call code written in C from Rust and to call Rust code from C.
Rust also has a library called CXX that can be used to call C++ code from Rust and to call Rust Code from C++.
There are many companies using Rust, some of the popular ones include Dropbox, Firefox, Cloudflare, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Discord, Mozilla, NPM, etc.
SHOULD I LEARN PHP OR RUST
Once you have compared the languages and evaluated all the factors, you can choose which programming language to learn or use depending on the factors that are on your side and what you want to build.
If you want a popular server-side scripting language that you can use for building many types of web applications, you should learn PHP over Rust.
If you are interested in a popular, high-performance language that can help you in developing systems quickly, working on command line tools, network services, embedded systems, and webAssembly, you should learn Rust over PHP.