PHP and ASP are different in many ways but both are used in generating dynamic content at the web server end based on which front-end programmers and site owners can change and update custom pragmatic logic, modify paragraphs and change design palette.
When ASP has been developed and licensed by Microsoft, PHP is open-source library available to developers. ASP runs in conjunctions with IIS or Internet Information Service on Windows server architecture. It has been paired with another Microsoft product Microsoft Sequential Query language database. But PHP on the other hand deemed apt for open-source interfaces such as Apache or UNIX. It has been paired with MYSQL database which is available for free of cost.
As popular server-side languages both have advantages and limitations based on which developers must select the best possible solution.
Selection of favorite programming language also depends on personal favorites, expertise and feasibility of a project. Despite PHP being open-source and easier to understand and implement, many enterprises still prefer their applications to be written using .Net programming language. This preferential behavior is mainly because of the following two reasons.
Integration between Microsoft enterprise application suit and web applications developed using PHP may lead to complications and cause performance issues. The integration issue is therefore avoided by developers and users alike. And so, the choice of PHP or ASP largely depends on compatibility issues with the remaining Microsoft application ecosystem.
Currently a large group of developers are using PHP because it is simpler, flexible and has more features than traditional ASP codes. Developing applications using PHP involves less effort and the end result is dynamically driven, content rich web pages.
PHP is deemed suitable for most businesses since it allows them to modify code easily and offers better control over website content. Moreover, one can benefit from engaging open-source community that promotes interaction and discussions between web developers around the globe where problems get sorted as soon as they are reported.
PHP suits small businesses, especially with limited technological capacity and budget as it involves no licensing cost. Developers and users alike can develop a series of web application using PHP off-the-shelf extensions, which makes deployment faster and easier. It also makes hosting affordable and is compatible with large variety of operating systems.
Choice of server programming language largely depends on enterprise's intrinsic business requirements, ability of in-house technical team and budget. In addition to that one must also have clear understanding of both short term and long term business objectives.