PHP vs Firebase – What are the differences?

This article will explore the differences between PHP vs Firebase. It will cover hosting options, technology frameworks, and popularity.

Although Firebase and PHP present two different domains. One is an application development cloud platform, and the other one is considered general-purpose programming.

However, it is still one of the most frequent questions of novices and businesses what is the difference between Firebase and PHP. They also inquire about the basic and in-depth differences between both platforms.

Therefore, this article presents the overview, pricing model and core differences between PHP and Firebase in a detailed manner.

Programming Language Overview

A programming language is a language in which a computer programmer writes the instructions to execute end operations. With the advancement of technology, programming languages are widely used to program different machines & applications to perform specific tasks according to the need.

There are multiple programming languages, and some of the most popular programming languages are C, C++, Java, PHP, COBOL etc.

Additionally, programming languages are classified into two types: low-level & high-level languages.

• Here are the primary differences between low-level and high-level programming languages:
• High-level programming languages are easily understandable as compared to low-level programming languages.
• Low-level programming languages are not portable.
• High-level programming languages require a compiler or interpreter to translate to machine code to perform operations on a computer. Python, Java, C++ and PHP are examples of high-level programming languages.
• On the contrary, low-level programming languages require assemblers to translate scripts into machine code.

Backend as a Service Overview

Backend as a Service (BaaS) allows the users to focus on the front-end of the applications without building and maintaining the server-side. With BaaS, developers get the backend services from some third party so that they can only emphasize the client-side operations of the mobile or web applications.

Indeed, Backend as a Service helps the developers in the rapid development of the applications. Developers do not need to build and implement complex logic for the backend of an application. They can just design the user interface of the application & connect them with the BaaS & launch the application.

This also helps the programmers reduce the development effort and increase app development efficiency. BaaS services help the developer with scalability, security & other performance-related issues, which allows the application to grow without facing any problems.

The necessary development resources are automatically reduced by using the BaaS services, and the same thing happens with the development budget.

Back4App, Firebase, and AWS Amplify are the leading Backend as a Service (BaaS) providers.

What is PHP?

PHP is a high-level programming language that Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf created in the late 90s. Yes, this programming language was introduced in 1994, and now, it is one of the most common programming languages for web development.

The script of this programming language is typically processed on a web server using the PHP interpreter. PHP is an easy to learn & understandable programming language, and most of the web developers start their journey with PHP.

Likewise, there are multiple frameworks for web development using PHP programming to help the developer in the creation of web apps in a structured and seamless manner.

The most common PHP frameworks are Laravel, FuelPHP, and CodeIgniter. These PHP frameworks provide plenty of built-in features/plugins to help the developers in rapid development. In addition, web developers can also code in PHP along with HTML in the same file to create web apps for server & client-side processing at the same place.

Here are some great startups using PHP.

PHP Core Features

Interpreted Language — PHP is an interpreted language which means there is no need for compilation to process the PHP code. Indeed, PHP code is operated line by line without a complete compilation for results. It improves the speed of processing of programs.

Fast — PHP is fast compared to other scripting languages such as ASP & JSP. This property of PHP also improves the performance of web applications.

Easy to Learn — PHP is an easy to learn programming language. Every beginner web developer usually starts with PHP because it is easy to understand and the most famous language for web development. It can be easily merged with HTML code so web developers can code the client-side UI and server-side programming in the same PHP files. It helps them learn web development quickly.

Web Servers Support — PHP is supported by almost all local servers, including Apache, Netscape and AppServ. So, developers can conveniently host their applications locally by using these web servers.

Compatible with HTML & JS — PHP is a server-side language, but it can easily be used along with HTML & JavaScript to implement complex logic.

Multiple Web Frameworks — There are numerous PHP frameworks for web development that are very helpful for rapid web development & maintenance. The most famous PHP frameworks are Laravel & CodeIgniter.

What is a Firebase?

Firebase is one of the most famous Backend as a Service (BaaS) providers that Google backs. This cloud computing vendor helps companies in the development, maintenance & growth of their application with its extraordinary features. Indeed, both startups & large-scale enterprises love to get the products of Firebase for their tech stacks.

The developers do not require maintaining the infrastructure for scalability and development of applications when they use Firebase. This BaaS tool doesn’t only help in development but also aids the developers to monitor the performance of the application. It simplifies the troubleshooting & testing process of apps for the developers.

You can also increase user engagement by messaging campaigns & A/B testing via Firebase.

Firebase Core Features

Realtime Database — Realtime data access is one of the most valuable features of Firebase. Most of the databases use HTTP calls to sync your data which means whenever you need the latest data, you would just have to make an HTTP call. In Firebase, a connection is made via WebSocket, which is much faster and does not require redundant calls to sync data. Once data is updated in the database, your application will automatically update it.

Authentication — Firebase provides an end-to-end user authentication feature. Email/password authentication of Firebase helps the developers to maintain secure authorization between the application and the users. Firebase assures secure authorization, while there can be multiple flaws when you write your custom authentication code. SQL injections & different other vulnerabilities can be found in your own authentication code, but Firebase ensures to avoid them.

Effortless Scalability — With the growth of applications, scalability is required to provide a smooth user experience without any issues. Hereof, Firebase provides the feature of effortless scalability with the growth of your application users. Firebase can scale your application without your intervention to support millions of your app users.

Cloud Messaging — Firebase helps you send automatic push notifications to the targeted audience of your application. It helps you engage your users at no cost.

Firebase Pricing

Firebase offers two types of pricing plans: the Spark Plan & Blaze Plan. Some of the Firebase features are free of cost in both programs, which includes A/B testing, Analytics, App Distribution, App Indexing and different others.

Spark plan is usually used by the users who want to get services with limited users, i.e., 10k per month authentications, 1GiB total stored data, etc. On the other hand, the Blaze plan is preferable for large applications in which you want to pay per user on the app, i.e., 0.01$ per Phone authorization in US/Canada/India and 0.06$ per Phone authorization in all other countries, etc.

Eventually, you will have to pay for the features that are required for your application because of its ‘Pay-as-you-go’ pricing policy.

Differences between Firebase and PHP

Conclusion

It is concluded that PHP and Firebase are two different platforms to build web applications. However, people are curious about their differences, so this article explains the core features of PHP & Firebase. In this regard, this article relates the things between PHP & Firebase and then provides the difference between them to help readers understand both things.

In short, PHP is a famous web development programming language, while Firebase is a cloud-based Backend as a Service platform. The difference between the PHP and Firebase was not understandable unless you understand the purposes we have provided by explaining their core features.

FAQ