While the internet is full of information, it’s sometimes hard to download and store this data. Web scraping is a great way to get the data you need from websites, but there are many programming languages to choose from. These are the reasons why PHP is still the best programming language to learn when it comes to web harvesting.
What Programming Language Should I Learn?
If you’re looking into programming and want to get more profound knowledge of the internet and its data setup, you’ve probably wondered what programming language to learn. When it comes to beginner coding, PHP is the best programming language to learn. Like anything in life, it may take a bit of a learning curve, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled.
In your search for a programming language, you’ve probably stumbled across a ton of different options. While each language option may have its advantages and disadvantages, none of them will be as easy to catch onto as PHP. Plus, if you’ve already got working knowledge of HTML, you just made learning PHP that much easier for yourself.
What is PHP?
PHP is short for “PHP: Hypertext Processor” and is a general-purpose scripting language. Many PHP users utilize it for web development, mainly because it can be embedded in HTML. When you learn PHP, you’ll learn many new tools in PHP, and your web scraping will be a breeze.
PHP is excellent for beginners and advanced programmers alike. It is simple enough that people can quickly start writing basic scripts in no time, yet it offers plenty of advanced features to professionals as well.
The basics are easy to learn, especially if you already have a foundation in HTML. Once you’re ready to learn more, PHP offers advanced tools for you to use for web scraping.
PHP is different from other kinds of code because it is executed on the server and sends HTML to clients instead of the actual code written. This means that the client can only see the results of running that script, but not the actual script itself. PHP protects your code from your programs’ users and keeps you from having to reveal all your secrets.
Why Use PHP For Web Scraping?
If you use PHP, you’ll learn all of the libraries and tools that PHP has to offer. If you already know the best programming language to learn (PHP) then you’ve already got some coding experience under your belt. You wouldn’t want to learn coding in a different language when you’re already familiar with PHP.
Beyond familiarity, it makes sense to use PHP as your web scraping go-to language when the application you’re scraping to also uses PHP. Keeping the language consistent helps ensure there aren’t any coding errors when scraping for web data. As long as you have a working knowledge of HTML, using PHP for web scraping shouldn’t cause you any strife.
Additionally, because PHP is an open-source program language, you can use it without fear of licensing fees. Learning PHP may cost you time and energy, but you don’t have to worry about it breaking your bank account. Plus, once you get the hang of PHP, it’s not that difficult to navigate or utilize for web scraping or other HTML activities.
Due to the fact PHP is an open-source program, it also means that it’s been well-documented online. This documentation suggests that the odds of someone having the same question as you are very high, so the answer is probably already out there. All you have to do is look for it. In a worst-case scenario, you could post a forum question, and then someone would help you.
The Difference Between PHP Web Scraping Tools
PHP’s tools can be put into two categories; web scraping libraries and web request libraries.
It’s essential to know the difference between these tools because these categories can fulfill very different roles. While they both make requests with the major HTTP methods and retrieve a web page’s basic HTML, there are many differences.
The web request library tools are great, but don’t let you parse a webpage when your HTTP request comes back. They also don’t allow you to make a chain of requests while shifting through a series of web pages you’re scraping.
Knowing the difference between these tools is important but easy, especially because PHP is the best programming language to learn.
Conclusion
Hopefully, we’ve answered your question of “what programming language should I learn?” with our explanation of PHP. It’s not only the best programming language to learn, but it’s nearly universal in its application. It’s got tons of great tools, and its easy-to-learn setup means you’ll be web scraping like a pro in no time.
