Why I Found PHP Easier To Learn?

Back in 2013 when I first started learning programming (without prior knowledge in information technology and programming), I was introduced to multiple programming languages like C, C#, ASP.net, Java, SQL, etc. during my studies in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

So, I’m sharing my experiences on learning programming languages as a complete beginner and it may vary from others.

And among many programming languages I was introduced to, I found PHP much easier and interesting. My opinion is based on the device (laptop) I had and tools we had to use back in 2013.

I’ll share why I found PHP easier to learn based on following points

1. Lighter and Faster Environment Setup

First I was introduced to C programming which was a procedural programming language run on black and white terminal. It was fun, IDE was light, but didn’t compel me to learn more as we’re in the Graphics era (not on DOS).

After C programming language, We learned C# for desktop app development and ASP.net for Web App Development.

And to learn coding in this language we had to install Microsoft Visual Studio IDE and MS SQL Server database. Both of the tools were pretty heavy, and needed more processing power (RAM & CPU). Sometimes it caused issues since I did not have the latest and highly configured laptop.

Similarly I was introduced to Java for Android apps development. And to learn it we had to install Android Studio and Emulator like Bluestacks because at that time we didn’t have better android phones for real time testing (I had a Karbonn brand A1+ model phone with 256 MB RAM).

All these setup was heavy for my laptop which ran with difficulty like it did while learning C# and ASP.net.

By the I learned C programming in first semester, Event Driven Programming (desktop application development) with C# and Relational database with MS SQL Server in second semester, Java for Android and ASP.net for Web Application in third semester.

And finally in the fourth semester I was introduced to the PHP programming language. To learn PHP, we just needed to install XAMPP and a code editor like Sublime or Notepad++. Both were lightweight and easy to install. When there was an issue installing XAMPP, we just changed the port number for MySQL or Apache and it ran perfectly. It caused the error since we had already installed the MS SQL Server database.

By now, my laptop was already carrying heavy loads of tools like Microsoft Visual Studio, MS SQL Server, Android Studio and Bluestacks. And whenever we had to do projects on C# or ASP.net or Java, my laptop barely turned on and worked.

But with the PHP development environment, it felt fast to start the development environment.

Thus, this might be the one reason for me to like PHP more as a Beginner.

Summary

Environment can be set up even in very low configuration computers.

Development Tools are Lightweight, Fast and Free to use.

Local Server: XAMPP, WAMP, MAMP, etc.

Code Editor: VSCode, Sublime, etc.

2. Faster Code Execution

Now, you know one of the reasons why PHP is easier to learn for beginners. Let’s discuss the other one.

Based on my situation with my laptop 10 years back as it was loaded with heavy tools to run all those programming languages, executing PHP code felt faster. You just had to write the code in the code editor and refresh the browser to see the result.

But it was not the case with other programming languages like C#, Asp.net and Java. First we had to write the codes on heavy IDEs like Microsoft Visual Studio and Android Studio, then run it which usually took around 5 minutes or more to process (compile) the code and show the result.

And you could only see the result if you wrote the correct code, else it would popup with errors.

So, just to know whether the code I wrote was right or wrong, I had to wait till my code gets compiled.

It’s all due to the situation of my laptop with all those heavy tools, not blaming the exact programming language back in 2013.

At the same time, I just had to start Apache and MySQL server on XAMPP, write code on sublime or notepad text editors then refresh the browser to see the result with PHP programming language, which was really fast.

By the time I could see result on C#, Asp.net or Java projects, I could see the result and fix it if I had any errors in PHP.

Thus, this was another reason I felt PHP was easier to learn than a PHP programming language.

Also it could be that by the time I was learning PHP, I had already known fundamentals of programming with C#, Asp.net and Java.

Anyway I shared my opinion based on my device situation 10 years back and how I felt with it as a beginner.

But now the devices are faster and cheaper, programming languages and tools are optimized and faster, so you may have a different opinion.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on learning programming as a complete beginner.