What is a “real” programming language? [closed]

Answer 1

UPDATE: read carefully before you vote, this is not my approach to PHP/Java, I'm trying to see how his teacher sees the PHP/Java thing. Thanks.

What I think your teacher thought: PHP is a language which is locked inside a webserver, mostly used to generate web pages.

Java, on the other hand, is a general-purpose language used for web pages too but used in other industries like microwaves & cars, you can write desktop application in Java etc.

With this in mind it's understandable why your teached said "PHP isn't a real programming language!"

I'm not biased, I don't like both, Java & PHP :) ...but have to use them both

Answer 2

define:programming language

It seems, according to this, that PHP is a programming language. Whether it's a real programming language is entirely subjective. Whether it's a good language is also subjective. Certainly, it is most commonly not used as an application programming language, but it can be used to develop shell applications via CLI. I have never done this, so my understanding of it is sketchy, but it's possible.

Now, is PHP "scripted" (I take this to mean a scripting language), and does it run on every platform? You judge:

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language that was originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document. As a general-purpose programming language, PHP code is processed by an interpreter application in command-line mode performing desired operating system operations and producing program output on its standard output channel. It may also function as a graphical application. PHP is available as a processor for most modern web servers and as standalone interpreter on most operating systems and computing platforms.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP

Does Java even run on every platform? No. Only those for which there exists a JVM.

Finally, does a language need to be compiled? Many aren't. Even Java isn't compiled in the same way C or C++ is. And then you'd also need to take a look at Perl, Python, etc.

Personally, I think PHP is a real programming language. I started there and easily moved on to C/C++ and Java. I wouldn't use it for the same purpose as Java, and its design is different from Java, but that doesn't mean much. It was easier to learn than Java for me.

Answer 3

You are right. These reasons are too weak. Actually you don't even need Apache to run PHP.
And first two reasons are just repeat themselves as it's only one reason actually. So, one can say 'PHP is not compiled language' but that doesn't mean it's 'not real programming language'. Java programs doesn't compile into machine codes too - well, it's not a real language as well. q.e.d.

Answer 4

Back when I was learning PHP, I too didn't believe PHP to be a programming language.

I'm not sure where I picked the idea up, but I learned somewhere that a scripting language is not a programming language. So I applied this thinking to other languages, such as JavaScript and SQL.

Since then I have changed my mind and understand now that there is a spectrum of languages that goes from high level (e.g. PHP, Javascript) to low level (e.g. c, assembler) with things like C# and Java somewhere in between.

Answer 5

"So, in the 'definition of a programming language', what makes PHP not a 'proper' one?"

The real reason is the fact that most people do not use it as a general purpose application programming language.

It is because there have been always languages which are better suited (with one exception: what PHP was created for, web programming). PHP is "yet another language not even with better design features over existing ones". Some examples of issues when comparing to different other languages include: lack of stable and portable GUI toolkits (at least on Windows/MacOS), lack of threading, lack of speed, and so on.

Ultimately, people who are going to write general applications in PHP, are mostly people who only know well PHP as a programming language. Because there is no reason to write a new application from scratch in PHP: you'll find that most experimented or talented programmers would never consider doing this.

Answer 6

Just to put an argument in the other direction to everyone else...

I feel slightly uncomfortable thinking of PHP as a programming language because I'm not convinced you end up with a program. You don't leave your PHP app running, rather a PHP page is requested and is loaded and processed in order to generate an output page, with side-effects like DB changes, etc.

None of this means PHP can't technically be described as a programming language but I think it's reasonable to separate it somehow from Java/C++ where a program can be left running with some concept of state. Each PHP file is surely its own 'program' since you can request any PHP page... there's no entrypoint to a PHP web-application except the convention of calling the right pages.