Ask HN: Python vs. PHP

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with PHP. It has it's shortcomings, but if you program carefully I don't believe those become an issue, especially if you've found that PHP is sufficient for your current issues. I think PHP's biggest strength is that PHP has an abundance of free libraries, and works on virtually every OS, etc...

However Python shares those strengths, and in many ways is considered a superior language. Switching may even spark your creativity about how to improve the site.

I think what you need to consider if you can afford to spend the time redoing your site in Python, and learning Python sufficiently well to really get the benefits out of it. If you can, you may also want to look at other emerging web-dev languages and see if other languages suit you better. But if you can afford to do it, a switch could be good for you.

build a good company that people in general will want to work for and you'll pull in the top developers. a top developer might prefer something else to whatever you're using, but a top developer will also be able to solve the same complex problems in any language.

If its good for you business, then do it. From your post, i assume PHP can handle all the needed features. Python or Ruby is just another tool. Don't worry about it now. Technology is just a means to get things done.

Don't learn python in order to redo the site. If you're hiring people that would that much rather have it in python than PHP, you'll probably end up making novice language mistakes that will make them end up hating the codebase and want to rewrite it themselves.

Use AJAX for your new features. Let your developers write backend servers in Python which the AJAX on the site will talk to.

I think this approach is a great way to let developers try out new languages.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I really appreciate the feedback.