PHP to Node.js: When Migrating is the Right Idea and How to Do It?

PHP to Node.js: When Migrating is the Right Idea and How to Do It?

Introduction In reality, it's not that simple. Both platforms have strengths and weaknesses. For some purposes, PHP is the better tool, but sometimes Node.js can offer more to a particular project. Read on to find out what everyone does best when it's the right move to migrate to Node.js, and how to do it.

PHP Basics It is a general-purpose declarative scripting language used for server-side development. It was created in 1994 and was used to build the original WordPress as well as Joomla and Drupal.

Despite its age, PHP is up to date for server-side processing. 83.4% of all websites whose code is known to use at least some PHP. Part of the reason for the appeal is its low price. All PHP features and updates are open and free.

In addition, the language is flexible and supports innovation.

Because PHP interprets requests on the server side, it enables more interactive features than simple HTML.

Strengths There's a reason more than three-quarters of the internet uses PHP. It was designed for the web, can be easily embedded in HTML, and has a deep code base. Developers can use it to create blogs and websites with dynamic features in a very short time.

One of PHP's strengths is database power. For example, a CMS built with PHP and MySQL is intuitive enough that anyone can update content and perform basic management tasks after a simple tutorial.

PHP has stood the test of time. It is mature and portable, able to run on almost any platform. The language has time and again proven its reliability for server-side work. When there is a problem, PHP enjoys huge community support. Developers can easily find help to solve unexpected problems or brainstorm to solve complex situations.

Finally, PHP has a low barrier to entry. Its syntax is similar to C, making it easy to learn and more error-forgiving than many languages. Errors kill a specific thread, not the entire process. This means that even "spaghetti" code will work around errors.

Weaknesses Maturity is an advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage. The age of PHP means that many outdated plugins can cause delays or introduce weaknesses into the system. It is important to thoroughly review all new plugins to ensure they are still supported.

PHP has a separation of concerns problem. The Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern—a best practice for scalable web development—separates the logical components of an application: data, behavior, and representation. This ensures consistent readability, maintainability, and scalability of web applications.

However, PHP tends to mix HTML and language syntax inside HTML files. Views and business logic are not separated, which is hard to read (let alone maintain). Maintaining applications with a large code base is incredibly labor intensive. The muddled logic also makes it difficult to extend PHP applications with new features.

Finally, PHP's declarative style can get in the way of teamwork. Flexibility creates bulky code when multiple people are involved. Commands can be written anywhere, so adding one person can be difficult for other developers to find and figure out. This presents a problem when adding new members to the maintenance team.

Node.js Node.js is a runtime environment that uses JavaScript to develop server-side applications.

It was first written by Ryan Dahl after becoming frustrated with the limitations of existing web servers. He decided to find a better solution and finally created the first version of Node.js in 2009.

Strengths Although it is a newcomer in popularity compared to PHP. It powers half a million websites and growing, with business and industry heavily represented in that number. Node.js has a vibrant community of developers and new modules are being released all the time.

The opportunity for a unified stack language entices developers to experiment with Node.js. Having JavaScript all the time improves code reusability. Front-end and back-end developers can easily coordinate using the same language and reduce costs. The resulting code is also easier to maintain.

In addition to being easy, Node.js offers high performance. It has a continuous connection to the server, a shorter request processing chain, and a faster engine than the Chrome V8 virtual engine.

Moving to Node.js development does not bring a significant decrease in flexibility. It's a no-opinion framework, with no hard dependencies or strict conventions for developers to follow.

The most interesting for growth-oriented companies is Node.js.

Its event-driven architecture includes built-in asynchronous processing. The non-blocking IO model reduces the load on individual processors and allows it to handle more requests than multi-threaded solutions. Module caching supports the scalability of the tool.

Modules are downloaded and initialized on the first call. They then remain permanently available for later use.

Weaknesses Being single-threaded and event-driven means that Node.js is not well-equipped for CPU-intensive processes. It runs into difficulties with graphics processing and creation, audiovisual editing, data structure transformations, complex calculations (such as HTML template rendering), zipping and unzipping, and managing concurrent requests.

Node.js is relatively new. Less maturity comes with a cost: although the community is large and active, it can be difficult to judge the quality of individual modules. There is no good oversight of approving the publishing of modules, so developers must take care to review any modules for bug fixes, updates, and other signs that they are still being maintained.

When to switch Node.js is exciting, but not everyone should start planning a migration. There are good reasons to stick with PHP. With all the arguments in favor of PHP, what can be gained with Node.js?

The unified stack language is exciting, but one feature stands out as the reason for its growing popularity: the Node Package Manager. It is the largest parcel registry in the world with over 350,000 parcels at press time. For perspective, that's more than the entire Perl CPAN repository collected in over 20 years.

NPM is very active. Every week, 160 people upload their first package to the registry, and users install up to 18 billion packages per month.

This live and comprehensive resource is a great asset for developers. It reduces development time spent on tedious general tasks, allows developers to focus on specific features, and makes their code easier to maintain.

There is something similar for PHP called Composer. It has a large number of useful modules, but it is not standard and not as comprehensive or active as Node Package Manager.

All things considered, the best uses of Node.js include:

6 best practices for migrating to Node.js As with any migration, moving to Node.js involves some degree of disruption. Following these best practices will make the transition as smooth as possible.

1. Plan your arrival carefully Preparing the staff is just as important as preparing the data. Provide group training resources that accommodate different skill levels of team members using JavaScript and Node.js. Set up pre-migration training to get everyone on the same page. This should include JavaScript concepts such as asynchronous programming, scope, data types, function arguments, JavaScript functions and objects, and callbacks.

Identify employees who may need additional support or mentoring.

2. Start with smaller apps Choose a good team to handle the initial stages of the transition. Their success serves several purposes. It proves the viability of Node.js, garners support for the process and gives other teams the confidence to follow when it's their turn.

3. Implement a module review process It was mentioned earlier that 160 developers publish their first module to NPM every week. While this is a promising sign of activity and innovation, it does translate into some uncertainty about module quality. There may be serious bugs that haven't been seen before, or even malicious code designed to be missed on a cursory inspection. Establish strict procedures for using new modules. Either choose well-tested, popular, well-rated modules or review the code of more obscure modules to make sure they don't pose a threat.

4. Standardize the integration Existing systems are often complex and require setup for integration. Because Node.js is highly flexible, teams can come up with different solutions to the same problems. This makes connecting components and seamless teamwork more difficult than it needs to be.

Standardizing integration practices reduces this complexity and promotes smoother team operations.

5. Lock dependencies Relying on servers to pick up dependency patches can also introduce unwanted changes. Use the shrink wrap and lock features to increase consistency and control over updates. Debugging is easier when it's easy to see which changes come from which dependency.

6. Highlight Node.js best practices While Node.js is new, it's not so new that there aren't well-established practices for getting the best results. For example:

Look into the future When WordPress announced in 2015 that it was shifting its focus from PHP to Node.js, many suggested that it was "the end of PHP". There was some evidence that it was more than hype. Calypso was written entirely in JavaScript using Node.js and React. With WordPress accounting for a quarter of the world's largest websites and 59% of all websites, this seemed like a major hit to PHP popularity.

However, updates like PHP 7.0 and Hack/HHVM have added more features to PHP. Due to several more pressing issues that these updates address, some developers believe that there is not enough potential gain to migrate to Node.js. There is also an argument in developer circles that Node.js is too constantly new to be adopted.

It remains to be seen whether one of them will take over or if something entirely new will eclipse both. Currently, PHP development is a safe choice for many projects - but Node.js has the potential to grow as companies become more interested in scalability and IoT.

Original Source: https://vin.gl/p/4594779?wsrc=link

Thanks!

Does anyone have any questions? sales@moontechnolabs.com +1 (620) 330-9814 www.moontechnolabs.com

13