Last Updated on June 17, 2019 by WebsiteDesigner.sg
The dynamic website is a website that is connected to a database of content. this database serves to operate the necessary updates to keep the content fresh. This database connectivity requires particular scripting languages that fulfill two properties:
– They operate on the server side.
– They are secure.
With this definition, the common gateway interfaces (CGIs) have been invented. The most famous CGI are those using Perl and PHP. These two scripting languages are similar. Yet, each has a certain set of particularities. The next few lines are intended to discover the particularities of each of them, and when it is suitable to use one or the other language.
The Common Gateway Interfaces in brief:
The common gateway interfaces are protocols that allow the web servers to execute specific scripts in a way to generate HTML. The common gateway interfaces work as the platforms of development. The CGIs allow the creation of the console like applications that will be used to instruct the server in the HTML generation process. The CGIs need, therefore, particular scripting languages called CGIs scripts.
Comparing the two scripting languages:
The Perl scripting language:
The Perl is a famous CGI script language. It inherits many features from some other powerful programming languages such as C and Basic. It was intended to text treatment and manipulation. Now, Perl is used in almost all digital fields notably web development. The script is executed downward and the lines are perceived as instructions. The blank lines are insignificant and they don’t alter the overall code.
Features of the Perl scripting language:
Perl is a loose script language. In other words, the developer can write the syntax in several styles and the program has to “guess” what it is about. In fact, the programming language focuses on the variable declaration. The database handlers can connect with the several database servers as Oracle and MySQL.
The PHP scripting language:
PHP is a relatively new scripting language. It was proposed mainly for web development. This scripting language inherits a lot from the Perl scripts. The most obvious inheritance is the variable syntax.
Besides, the scripts are inserted in the HTML code using specific tags [ Features of the PHP language:
The PHP scripting language defines the variable type as soon as it is solicited within the code. The database management targets the MySQL server. Recent updates are considering moving to the PDO server. It appears that PHP offers high-secure database connections. It is practical to use PHP to create CMS and development platforms.
Conclusion:
The main difference between the two scripting languages is the usage. The Perl has seen its usage extended to the web whereas the PHP is dedicated to the web. This characteristic created an excellent language that is adapted to the several aspects of the web. Indeed, the security concerns are well-handled in PHP. However, the various libraries included in Perl give it a cross-platform property.