PHP & Web Development Blogs

For any development project to be successful, it’s important to choose the right technology and programming language. Most of the time, developers get confused about which programming language to choose.

Nowadays, PHP and Python have gained popularity among the programming languages for web development projects. However, choosing one between PHP vs Python is a difficult task. Recently, this has become a good topic for discussion.

Here, in this blog, we will compare the two popular programming languages: PHP vs Python. Let’s see which one turns out to be the best choice for web development.

What is Python?

Python is an open-source programming language developed in the year 1991 by Guido Van Rossum. It is one of the most commonly used languages due to its high level and easy-to-understand syntax.

According to the survey by Stack Overflow, Python is one of the most preferred programming languages. These Python app examples highlight its robustness and suitability for building scalable and innovative solutions across different platforms. Most of the companies and developers around the world are using Python web development.

What is PHP?

PHP or Hypertext Pre-processor, is an open-source server scripting language that is used for creating interactive and engaging web pages. This programming language comes with many features, libraries, plugins, and add-ons that increase community support and functionalities.

PHP language was developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in the year 1995. Earlier, PHP was named as Personal Home Page, which was later changed to Hypertext Pre-processor. An advantage of using PHP language is it supports all web browsers.

PHP is a practical, flexible, and fast programming language that can handle dynamic content on HTML sites, session tracking, and databases.

Features: PHP vs Python

PHP

* Open-source language, anyone can download and use it for free.
* PHP is easy to use and code than other programming languages.
* It is more efficient than other scripting languages like ASP and JSP.
* Offers access to log in by creating a summary of the recent user accesses.
* Provides database integration and supports distinct databases such as MySQL and Oracle.
* It has predefined error-reporting constants that generate warning or error messages.

Python

* Python is an easy-to-learn programming language.
* Provides an ideal structure and support for large applications.
* It can operate on different hardware platforms utilizing the same user interface.
* Python can be integrated with C, C++, and Java programming code.
* It’s easy to incorporate low-level modules in Python interpreter.
* Python offers high-level dynamic types of data and support for dynamic type checking.
* Its features support automatic garbage collection.
* It supports an interactive mode of testing and debugging.

Pros and Cons: PHP vs Python

Here, we will compare the pros and cons of PHP vs python for web development.

Pros of PHP

* Has a large ecosystem.
* Flexible and platform-independent.
* Several open-source PHP frameworks are available to use for free.
* Offers many pluggable frameworks, Open-source and object-oriented.
* Supports different database interfaces such as No SQL, PostgreSQL, and so on.
* It is supported by many operating systems and works cross-platform.
* Encourages top-notch debugging.
* Provides in-built SQL support.
* Offers support for database collection modules.
* It supports all operating systems like Windows, Linux, and UNIX.

Cons of PHP

* Delayed and wired performance.
* Not apt for content-based applications.
* Utilizes weak typing that can lead to false knowledge and data to users.
* Its core behavior can’t be changed.
* There’s no IOT alliance.
* Fewer security protocols and features.

Pros of Python

* Easy to learn and maintain.
* An open-source and uniformly unfolding language.
* Enables cross-platform code reusability.
* Object-oriented and versatile language to deploy.
* Offers WORA functionality.
* Helps in developing GUI apps.
* Has automatic garbage collection.
* It can be integrated easily with other languages, such as Java or C++.
* Provides libraries like Tenseorflow for math-intensive tasks.

Cons of Python

* Creates delays in web app testing.
* It utilizes an enormous amount of memory to help developers in easy development.
* Operates slower than other web development languages.
* Not of much use in mobile computing browsers and mobile app development.
* It has dynamic typing, which makes error detection more difficult.
* It’s too large for a simple and small app or website.
* Run time errors occurs due to duck typing.

When Should You Select PHP?

PHP is a commonly used server-side scripting language among developers. The best use cases in which you should select PHP:
* For developing blogs, websites, and web applications.
* Work effectively on the server side.
* Less investment.

When Should You Select Python?

* Python programming language has gained popularity in recent times. Below we have given some of the best cases in which you should choose Python.
* For operating in the areas of robotics and data science.
* When you want accurate and extensive data analytics.
* Developing websites using the Django framework.

Why opt for PHP?

Here, we will give you some reasons why you should opt for the PHP programming language.
* Open-source language, easy to download and use.
* Easy to learn and operates effectively on the server side.
* This scripting language can run on distinct platforms such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX.
* It’s compatible with every server, like IIS, Apaches, and so on.
* Supports a broad range of databases.

Why opt for Python?

As you know, there are many advantages and disadvantages of using Python. Here, we will tell you why you should choose Python for web development.
* Python language is easy to use and maintain.
* Python syntax is quick to understand and debug as well. Therefore, its source code is easier to maintain.
* It has a garbage collection feature and memory addresses accordingly.
* It comes with many pre-built libraries.
* Python supports GUI apps such as Django, Tkinter, WXPython, etc.
* It’s a versatile and portable language. You can run Python on different types of operating systems or platforms.
* Python comes with a database-friendly interface that can store a colossal amount of data for commercial DBMS systems.
* It has an interactive shell that helps in unit testing before deploying a product.

Comparison: PHP vs Python

Above, we have given the features and pros & cons of PHP vs Python. In this section, we will give you a comparison between PHP vs Python in accordance with different parameters.

Parameters
Python
PHP
Release
    .
    .
Learning curve
Easier
Steep
Language type
Specialized for web development
General purpose programming language
Syntax
Clear & concise
Complex
Security
High
Medium
Readability
High
Low
Database connectivity
Faster
Slower
Debugging
Fast
Slower
Performance
Lesser support
Faster
Supported Frameworks
Flask, Django, Web2Py
Laravel, Zend, Codelgniter
GitHub Stars
    . 9k
    . 5k
TIOBE Rating
    . st position
    . th position
Forks
    . 5 k
    . 9k
Major Users
Instagram, YouTube, Quora, Reddit
Facebook, Yahoo, Flickr, Tumblr


This comprehensive comparison between PHP vs Python can help you to choose the right language for web development. Now, we will compare some other elements that would give you a clear picture of both PHP vs Python.

1. Ease of Learning

Python is an easier language to learn compared to PHP. If you are a beginner, then Python is a good choice as you can learn it quickly. Python programs are shorter as well as easy to write in comparison to other languages.

PHP programming language is made for creating sophisticated web apps. It’s not a general-purpose language, and it takes time to learn it.

2. Ease of Use

Python is an open-source programming language that is versatile and portable. Python’s syntax is simple, and coding is easy to learn compared to PHP. But PHP is not just an ordinary programming language it’s used for creating dynamic web pages with HTML. This makes PHP more difficult to use than Python.

3. Community Support

Both PHP and Python provide good community support. PHP has been in the market for a long time and has a large community of developers. Therefore, you can immediately get support if you opt for PHP.

However, there are even many Python developers who constantly develop python apps. So, the community support in Python is also good. Consequently, we can’t say whether PHP or Python is better at providing community support.

4. Flexibility

Nowadays, web apps backed by Machine Learning are in high demand. Also, ML is a significant part of Python. Python provides many machine-learning libraries, such as Tensorflow, Theano, Pandas, and Scikit-learn. Additionally, these libraries are rapid, unique, & robust and work effectively with a web framework.

Nonetheless, Python programming language can be used in many other fields apart from web development. But when it comes to PHP, it’s best for web development. Therefore, we can say Python is a better choice here.

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5. Speed to Market

Python provides a comprehensive set of modules and third-party libraries to help developers finish the project faster. One of the popular web frameworks written in Python is Django. It utilizes the MVC pattern to allow developers to create apps fast using a significant division of concerns and reusability.

PHP also has a vast set of tools, frameworks, and libraries. Laravel is a popular PHP framework that allows the MVC pattern. Additionally, it comes with many helpful functionalities for web development, like routing, templating, authentication, and so on.

6. Web Frameworks

You get robust and well-designed web development frameworks both in PHP and Python. Most of the big businesses utilize web frameworks that PHP provides. For example, Laravel and Symfony are mature web frameworks, and a huge community supports them. So, we can say PHP makes web development easy.

Python also has many exceptional frameworks that are highly scalable, easy to use, fast and secure. It’s two most popular web frameworks are Flask and Django. If you want a shorter development period, then you can choose Django over PHP-based frameworks.

7. Library Management

Python uses Pip to handle and deal with packages. Pip ensures that Python app development is easy, rapid, and meets development needs. Python has powerful library management compared to PHP. It has a wide range of packages and tools that assist and make web app development easier. So, in terms of library management, Python clearly wins it.

8. Security

When it comes to security, most businesses prefer using Python. For instance, Django offers many pre-built security features that aid in safeguarding the apps from distinct security breaches & threats.

Apart from that, many government organizations rely on Python as their secret hacking tool. Most of the security problems are addressed by its large community support. However, PHP is less strong than Python in aspects of security.

9. Environment Management

In terms of handling environments, Python is the best programming language. It has a Virtualenv system that aids in installing different versions of the language and switching between them immediately.
PHP has no comparison with Python when it comes to handling environments. There’s an analog of PHP, VirtPHP, but it’s archived and not maintained. Therefore, most of the developers opt for Python.

10. Debugging

Python has an in-built debugger called Python Debugger or PDB. It utilizes many debugging strategies. PDB enables dynamic typing and lets developers work effortlessly without stating things at the start of a program.
PHP also comes with an XDebug package for handling bugs and error-checking the codes. But PHP development is quite slow in identifying and removing bugs. Therefore, it often experiences security issues.

The Bottom Line PHP vs Python: Which One You Choose for Web Development?

From the blog, you must have inferred that both PHP and Python are good for web development. However, there are many aspects in which Python wins over PHP. But this doesn’t mean that you only have to opt for Python. The selection of programming language majorly depends on the complexity and needs of the project.

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PHP vs Python: FAQs

1. Why choose Python over PHP?
Python is chosen over PHP for web app development due to many reasons, such as ease to use, simple syntax, flexibility, security, high performance, etc.
2. Which programming language is secure: PHP vs Python?
Python is a preferred programming language when it comes to security as it has many security features compared to PHP.
3. Why is Python used mostly?
Python is a general-purpose programming language and is utilized in web development, mobile app development, AI, ML, game development, big data, and so on.
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To bridge the gap between web-based and cloud-based applications, businesses often rely on skilled DevOps developers. These professionals play a crucial role in ensuring seamless integration, efficient customization, and robust back-end infrastructure for applications. The expertise of DevOps developers is indispensable for optimizing development workflows and enhancing collaboration between development and operations teams in the dynamic landscape of app development services.

In the realm of cloud computing, web based application in cloud computing play a pivotal role. Technically, web apps, as the name suggests, are applications hosted on remote servers & accessible through web browsers. On the other hand, cloud-based apps are web applications that come with advanced functionalities & elaborate compatibility.


In the realm of contemporary software development, the demand for innovative solutions is evident in the competition between web and cloud-based applications. These two platforms share similarities but diverge significantly in crucial aspects. This article will delve into the distinctions between web-based and cloud-based applications, exploring facets such as back-end infrastructure, scalability, and technical perspectives, shedding light on the nuances that developers navigate in this dynamic landscape, including the pivotal role of technologies like chatbot development.
What Is a Web Application?

A web-based app is an application designed and developed for the web browser. Unlike cloud based application development, the web app completely depends on the web server for functionality & processing. This application program is mainly stored on the remote server & delivered through a web browser interface over the internet. According to web application development company, web apps have client-server architecture & their codes are divided into 2 major components – server-side architecture & client-side architecture.

Server-side architecture: The server-side architecture or script usually deals with data processing. The web server can process a client request & send a response back. This web app architecture defines a simultaneous interaction between database instances, components, user interfaces, middleware systems, and servers.

Client-side architecture: The client-side architecture mainly deals with interface functionalities such as drop-down boxes and buttons. When a user clicks on the link, the browser will start loading the client-side script & rendering a text and graphic element for interaction.
Types of Web Apps
Nowadays, many businesses are already adopting various kinds of web-based applications because of their several advantages, features, and functionalities. 8 most popular types of web apps include:
    . Static Web Apps
Static web applications, constructed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, lack the flexibility of dynamic counterparts. These web based services provide content directly to users without requiring server-side modifications, resulting in simplicity and straightforward development. Key benefits of these apps include:
Very fast load time
Highly secure
Less complex to build
    . Dynamic Web Apps
This is a complex type that provides real-time data based on the server response and the user’s request. Dynamic web apps can be developed either as a conventional website with several pages and levels of navigation or as a single-page web application. They use several server-side and client-side languages to create web pages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, etc. Key benefits of dynamic web apps include:
Wider audience reach
Scalable in comparison to static web apps
Very flexible in terms of a new content update
    . Single Page Apps
A single page web app entirely runs on the browser & never requires browser reloading. This is actually a dynamic web app that manages all data on a single HTML page. This type of web app is faster than traditional websites as its logic is implemented in the browser directly than a server. Gmail, Netflix, Pinterest & Paypal are the best examples of single page applications. Key benefits include:
Enhanced user experience
Minimized server load
Improved app performance
    . Multiple-Page Apps
Multiple page apps are designed multiple pages separately and combined to form a website. They have different pages with static information like texts & images. Web based app development companies recommend using multiple-page apps as they offer excellent control over search engine optimization techniques. Major benefits of Multiple page apps include:
Ideal for SEO
Quick browser back or forward navigation
Simple to develop
    . Animated Web Apps
This is a type of web application that effectively supports synchronization & animation on the web platform. These applications are widely used by freelancers and creative companies to present their creativity better. Technically, JavaScript, HTML5, FLASH, and CSS are used to create animated web applications. Key benefits of AWAs include
Improved User Engagement
Enhanced Navigation
Excellent Branding
    . Web Apps with CMS
In this web application, content is updated constantly. It helps to manage, modify and create digital content with ease. WordPress is one of the best examples of CMS web applications. A variety of languages are used to create content management systems such as C#, PHP, Java, and Python. Key advantages of CMS web apps include:
Quick content creation & management
Efficient & quick updates
A vast range of features
    . E-commerce Web Apps
It’s a complicated and advanced dynamic web application that allows users to buy & sell goods electronically. These web based services encompass transaction and payment integration as key components, facilitating seamless order processing, payment acceptance, and logistical management for businesses involved in online commerce. Key benefits of these web apps include:
Scale business quickly
Offers customer insights through tracking & analytics
Sell goods across the world
    . Progressive Web Apps
Progressive web apps or PWAs are also called cross-platform web apps usually built with HTML, CSS, & JavaScript. PWAs use different features, APIs, and progressive methods to deliver a seamless experience. Progressive web apps boost the adaptability and speed of web applications. These apps are still easy to access if internet connectivity is poor. Key benefits of progressive web apps include:
Fast loading time
No installation required
Quickly respond to user interactions
Enhanced cross-platform conversion

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Type
Widely Used In
Advantages
Dynamic web apps
Social media
Healthcare
IT Industry
Logistics and transportations
Retail and ecommerce sectors
On-demand
Directly manage websites to update & change the information
Quick user management to protect servers & control all website users
Static web apps
Book publishing sectors
Works in offline mode
No 3rd party software installation required to access web apps
Single page apps
Email service
Communication sectors
Allows navigation & optimized routing experience
Keeps visual structure of web apps consistently through presentation logic
Multiple page apps
E-commerce sectors
Enterprise industries
Enables optimizing every page for the search engine
Allows users to access other pages
Animated web apps
Animation
Education
Gaming industries
Hold user attention for a very long time due to its attractive approach & unique design
Aspect ratios, landscape orientations, portrait, and viewing distances & different pixel densities are considered
Web apps with CMS
Blogging platforms
Sales & marketing platform
News portals
Easily organizes the web content Offers group & user functionality
Simple language support & integration
E-commerce web apps
E-commerce sectors
Allows sellers to sell products using a single platform
Helps you expand business globally & reach maximum audience
Progressive Web Apps
On-demand
Healthcare
Retail and e-commerce
Logistics and transportations
Social media
IT sectors
Responsive & Browser Compatibility Works in online & offline mode
Updates with no user interaction

Key Benefits of Web Apps
Web apps enable businesses to interact with their customers more efficiently. These applications can make it easy to track & measure data that are essential to keep business operations streamlined. Key advantages of web apps include:
Easily accessible through any kind of web browser
Runs on multiple platforms that make it cross-platform compatible
Minimizes the risk of compatibility issues
Requires less maintenance & support from the developer’s end
Helps to ease usability for the customers
Effectively eliminates hard drive space limitations
Apps can be maintained & updated without software reinstallation on several devices
Offers high scalability and flexibility
Simple to deploy, maintain, and update
The cost of routine maintenance is minimized as the data is stored on remote servers
What is a Cloud Based App?
These apps are online software programs with elements accessible via a local server and executed on the cloud environment. As internet-based software, cloud applications are stored in the remote data center & handled by cloud-service providers. These apps are used for file sharing & storage, order entry, word processing, inventory management, financial accounting, customer relationship management, data collection, etc.

According to the report, the global market size of cloud apps is projected to reach approx 168.6 billion USD by 2025. Cloud apps usually support several user requirements through customization and provide several services to meet storage, backup & security needs. Some major characteristics of cloud apps include:
Agile application
Microservices-oriented
API-backed
Continuously integrated & delivered
DevOps-enabled
Analytics-infused
User experience-centric
Types of Cloud-based Applications
Cloud apps are divided into three major cloud computing models – SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Each model also shows several parts of cloud computing stacks. Take a closer look at these types:
    . SaaS or Software as a Service
SaaS is one of the best cloud apps that enable users to easily access full-functioning software applications over the internet. These cloud applications are primarily designed for freelance services, large enterprises & SMBs. Some of the best examples of SaaS applications are HubSpot CRM, Wrike, MS Office 365, Sisense, Wix, etc.
    . PaaS or Platform as a Service
PaaS provides users with the infrastructure, computing platforms, and solutions to build their own applications. Platform as a Service is ideal for businesses that mainly engage in collaboration, testing, and development of cloud solutions. PaaS applications have a deployment environment including run-time system libraries, operating systems, and graphic UI. Some of the best examples of PaaS apps are Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace Cloud Sites, etc.
    . IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service
IaaS consists of basic building blocks that offer access to networking functionalities, features & data storage space. It enables users to outsource IT infrastructures like servers, processing, virtual machines, storage, networking & other resources. IaaS applications also offer a good level of management control and flexibility over IT resources. Some of the best examples of IaaS apps are Amazon WorkSpaces, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud, etc.
Benefits of Cloud Apps
Web based application in cloud computing boost productivity, accessibility, security, and data safety. They help businesses make the process of collaboration more effective and easier. Key benefits of cloud applications include:
Minimal service provider interaction & management effort
Provides large computing capabilities, online & offline
Provides access to information from any device or place
Offers fast access to important applications through cloud servers
The performance of the availability of cloud apps enhances profitability & streamlines workflows
Serves multiple consumers with virtual and physical needs
Provides high transparency to resource providers & consumers
Offers improved collaboration options
Web Apps Vs Cloud Apps – Key Differences
Web apps and cloud apps both come with a wide range of functionalities & have noticeable distinctions. Web-based applications usually are accessible via web browsers, whereas cloud app’s infrastructure and data aren’t only accessible through the web browser but also downloadable. So, all cloud apps are web apps with additional features. Other differences between web and cloud apps are listed below.

Parameters
Cloud apps
Web apps
Internet
Work partially or entirely without the internet connectivity
Work with the internet only
Security
Ensures high security measures for sensitive & confidential information
It can verify client info on authentic servers
Technology
It needs a back–end framework & a JavaScript-based structure like React Js, Angular, etc
It has inbuilt languages such as PHP, Python & Ruby, and databases like MySQL.
Access
It’s not dependent on the web browser
Accessed via the web browser only
Customization
Customization features improve functionalities.
Never provides customization and similar functionalities
Costs
Expensive as compared to web apps
Development cost is less than cloud apps
Types
SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, RaaS
Static web apps, dynamic web apps portal web apps, etc
Scalability
Inherently scalable
Limited scalability
Availability
High uptime
Limited uptime
Storage
Multiple replicated center
Single data center

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Final Words
Web apps and cloud apps both are continuing to deliver users as the most crucial touch point. Since they are packed with similarities and dissimilarities in terms of software architecture, storage, and other aspects, selecting the right application always depends on customer preferences, business needs, and operations. Are you planning to build a custom web application or looking for web app development services? Get in touch with our experts for complete assistance.

PHP, by all means, is an immensely powerful language!



We may fall short of words, but there won't come any end to its qualities. The endless functionalities and possibilities of this server-side scripting language have managed to get it a strong and supportive community of PHP programmers on a global level. At present, PHP powers more than half on websites and applications on the internet.


Do you know what makes PHP so praiseworthy?



It is the simplicity, easy programming structure, and developer-friendly web functionalities that are to be credited to turn PHP into one of the top programming languages. You can create highly interactive and dynamic websites and applications with desired results by making use of PHP.



However, coding often could be a tough and tedious task to accomplish. As a solution to this, you get built-in PHP libraries that optimize the process of coding for maximum productivity.

But what are these libraries?

That's exactly what you will find out as you move ahead in this article, a list of top 12 PHP libraries capable of leading the development process in an intended manner.



So, without waiting any further, let's move ahead to learn about PHP libraries in-depth.

PChart

PChart is a PHP library assisting with the generation of text data in the form of something more appealing to the eyes and known as visual charts.



You can use this library to represent data as bar charts, pie charts, and many more different formats. The PHP script here utilizes SQL queries to put data in the impressive charts or graphs form.

Mink

Another well-known in the list of PHP libraries is Mink. It allows you to keep an eye on if a proper interaction is happening between your web apps and the browser. Eliminating the API differences between the two types of browser emulators, Mink offers an authentic testing environment for you. It also supports PHPUnit, Behat, and Symfony2.

Monolog

Monolog is a PHP logging library that helps you with saving logs to the specified locations by sending them to set files, sockets, inboxes, databases, or other web services. The use of the PSR-3 interface permits to type-hint logs in counter to your libraries that maintain optimum interoperability.

Hoa

This modular, extensible, and structured set of PHP libraries we know as Hoa establishes a link between the research and the industry.



It recommends essential paradigms, mechanisms, and algorithms for building the reliability of a site. Many PHP developers in different parts of the world use Hoa for ideal PHP development.

Guzzle

Guzzle is an HTTP client library for PHP that enables you to send HTTP requests to combine with web services.



It offers a simple interface that makes the development of query strings, POST requests, HTTP cookies, and many other attributes possible. You can also use Guzzle to send synchronous and asynchronous requests from the similar interface.

Ratchet

If your need is to develop real-time, two-directional apps between clients and servers over WebSockets, Ratchet is the PHP library you need to do it effectively.



Creating event-driven apps with Ratchet is a rapid, simple, and easy job to do!

Geocoder

Geocoder is a library to create applications that are very well geo-aware.



With Geocoder, there is an abstraction layer that helps with geocoding manipulations.



It is further split into two parts, known as HttpAdapter and Provider.

ImageWorkshop

ImageWorkshop is an open-source PHP library letting you work over the manipulation of images with layers. You can crop, resize, add watermarks, create thumbnails, and so much more. You can also enhance the images on the sites.

PhpThumb

phpThumb is the library specialized at handling the work associated with creating thumbnails with minimal coding. Accepting every image source type and image formats, it makes you do a lot ranging from rotating or cropping to watermarking or defining the image quality.

Parody

This simple library we know as Parody is used to copy classes and objects. It also provides results for method calls, acquiring properties, instantiating objects, and more. Sequential method chaining is used by Parody to produce defining class structures.

Imagine

This object-oriented PHP library is meant for working with images along with manipulating them. The often adopted operations such as resizing, cropping, and applying filters happen instantly and relatively well with Imagine.



With Imagine, you get a color class that forms the RGB values of any given color. Draw shapes like arc, ellipse, line, etc. with the features available.

PhpFastCache

PhpFastCache is an open-source PHP library that makes caching feasible. Coming as a single-file, it can be integrated within a matter of minutes.



Caching methods supported by PhpFastCache involve apc, memcache, memcached, wincache, pdo, and mpdo.


The Bottom Line




It's not about what extra difference these libraries make; it's about what significant individual contributions these libraries make for a final desired PHP app or website.



A PHP programmer, too, agrees with these libraries' benefits.



It's your time now to try and believe!

Technology is constantly changing the way we interact, research, and react. One such way artificial intelligence is impacting our daily lives, and we may not even realize it is in weather forecasting.

The forecast we usually have been receiving in our phones and in older times primarily in newspapers, was based on data collected via satellites, radar system and weather balloons. In recent times there has been the addition of IoT based sensors as well. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) finding its way in numerous areas, AI has taken a role in improving the accuracy of weather as well.

The Dataset expansion

A significantly enormous set of data is available - from the weather satellites in space, to the private and government owned weather stations which are gaining real-time data. IBM for instance has more the 0.25 million weather stations that help IBM collect real-time data. Additionally, as we are in the age of Internet of Things (IOT), each small device to big device- cellphones, solar panels and vehicles everything has become or is yet to become yet another data source. Companies like GE have installed IOT street lights, which help in monitoring air quality and humidity. These are some of the few sources which help us in collecting the vast amount of data necessary for building on the AI technology, in future these sources and the amount of available data would grow exponentially.

Google and Weather forecast

Using the AI technology Google is able to develop a weather forecast tool, it has been trained to predict rainfalls accurately as much as six hours before. The underlying technology on which this prediction is build upon is U-Net convolutional neural network which is originally used in biomedical research. It works by taking satellite images as input and uses AI technology to transform these images into high resolution images. The only off-set is this is not real-time prediction and the delay due to complex calculations results in using six-hour old data and hence can only predict six-hours before.

IBM and its efforts in weather prediction

The quest for IBM to venture into weather forecasting began with IBM acquiring The Weather Company. IBM plans on using the large amount of weather data available coupled with IBM Watson and the cloud platform to enhance weather forecasting. In 2019 IBM developed Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System (GRAF) in order to forecast weather conditions 12 hours prior to a greater degree of accuracy. The radius encompassed by the GRAF is also more narrowed down up to 3 kilometers as opposed to generally being 10-15 kilometers. Another of its marvel is that it gives accurate predictions down to each hour and not just daily.

Artificial Intelligence and Panasonic

Panasonic is the company behind TAMDAR, the weather sensor installed on commercial airplanes. With this advantage of extensive amount of data from in-flight sensors as well as publicly available data Panasonic developed Global 4D Weather. Proving to their claim of being the most advanced global forecasting platform globally they were able to timely predict Hurricane Irma in its early days.

Uses of Weather Forecasting

Sales

Everyday life decisions are affected by weather, it makes us choose in the way we travel, things we eat and things we buy to wear. The rise in temperature may increase sales of chilled drinks, if the company is fully aware of the forecast it would be able to manage productions as per demand. AI can help brands in maximizing sales based on weather forecasts and in minimizing waste.

Natural Disasters

The Panasonic Global 4D weather predicting Hurricane Irma is just another example where timely prediction can save millions of lives in face of situations like floods and Hurricanes. Companies like IBM combine weather forecasting data with utilities distribution network, which enables them to narrow down areas with likely outages. This enables utilities to place their workforce timely so the repair process catering to damage repairs post disasters is shortened. This in turn brings huge benefits to the overall economy.

Agriculture

The weather and agriculture have the most obvious correlation, each process in farming from sowing to reaping all depends on the weather. As farmers cultivate on huge farming lands, accurate information about each part of the land can help farmers in improving their crops and yield by manifolds. Weather conditions can lead to almost 90 percent of crop losses, 25 percent of these losses can be avoided using accurate AI prediction models to forecast weather and in turn improve the yield.

Transportation

Sea travel has always been eventful, timely prediction of storms by using machine learning techniques and hyper-local data allows companies to plan shipments accordingly and avoid severe weather conditions that usually result in delays. Tools like IBM’s Operations Dashboard for Ground Transportation equips in enhancing productivity based on weather predictions.

Another of the implementation of AI in transportation industry corelating to weather is fuel consumption. For instance, using weather prediction models to reduce airplane fuel consumption during its ascent.

To conclude Artificial Intelligence has a key role to play in weather forecasting, weather direct or indirectly impacts each sector in the economy. As the amount of information available to improve predictions increases exponentially it gives a chance to AI to improve accuracy even further. As we continue narrowing down weather conditions precise to time and location the benefits of such advancements across all industries are innumerable.

Welcome back! If you're new to this series have a look at Part 1 here

Today we are going to beef things up a bit and we will focus on the backend and some key CMS functionality.

It's time to get excited, this is where you'll start to see your barebones structure morph into something extraordinary!

Tired of my intro? That's ok! Let's jump into it!

Getting the DB on board

Before we delve into this, it's imperative that we take a minute and plan things out.

The database tables that are vital to any CMS are the menu, the user table, and the content table.

Our menu table will start of as follows:

CREATE TABLE 'mydbname'.'menus' ( 'ID' INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT , 'menuname' VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL , 'item' VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL , 'itemlink' VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY ('ID')) ENGINE = MyISAM COMMENT = 'menu table';

Let's break this down a bit.

In the SQL above, we're creating a new table called menus.

Essentially our structure looks like this:

ID | Menuname | Item | Itemlink

Our ID field is our unique identifier (our PRIMARY KEY).

Tip: Remember, you can use raw SQL or a tool like PhpMyAdmin to create your db tables/execute SQL queries.

Next up is our user table.

CREATE TABLE 'mydbname'.'users' ( 'ID' INT(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT , 'username' VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL , 'password' VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL , 'email' VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL , PRIMARY KEY ('ID')) ENGINE = MyISAM COMMENT = 'user table';

Visually represented this structure looks like this:

ID | Username | Password | Email

Our ID field is our unique identifier.

And finally, our content table modifications. You probably remember creating a rudimentary content table in Part 1 of the series.

ALTER TABLE 'mydbname'.'content' ADD content_type VARCHAR(50);

Yep, you guessed right, in the above statement we are altering our content table and adding a new field called content type.

Our new table structure now looks like this:

ID | Title | Content | Author | Content Type

Planning to Add to the Backend

Next , we're going to add a menu section, an add user section, and we'll also modify our content section.

Let's do this! reate a file called menus.php in your backend folder.

Next, code a HTML form to save your menu data.

The form needs the following fields:

Menu Name (we called this menuname in our db table).

Menu Item Name (we called this item in our db table).

Menu Link (we called this itemlink in our db table).

Try to follow Part 1 to do this on your own.

If you get a little stuck, that's ok. You can also follow the example below:

<form method="post" action="<?php $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>"/>

<input type="text" name="menuname" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Menu Name" required />

<input type="text" name="item" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Item" required />

<input type="text" name="itemlink" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Item Link" required />

<input type="submit" value="Save Menu Item" name="savemenu" class="mybutton"/>

</form>
 

Notice the use of CSS classes? The gravy!

This will come in handy in our next tutorial.

Next, let's add the form processing code as we need to save these fields to the database. Remember to use the sanitization technique you learned in Part 2.

Add this above your <form> tag.

<?php

if(isset($_POST['savemenu'])){

include('../includes/conn.php');

if ($letsconnect->connect_error) {

die("Your Connection failed: " . $letsconnect->connect_error);

}else{

$menuname = $letsconnect ->real_escape_string($_POST['menuname']);

$item = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST['item']);

$itemlink = $letsconnect->real_escape_string($_POST['itemlink']);

$sql = "INSERT INTO menus(menuname,item,itemlink) VALUES ('".$menuname."', '".$item."', '".$itemlink."')";

if (mysqli_query($letsconnect, $sql)) {

echo "Your data was saved successfully!";

} else { echo "Error: " . $sql . "" . mysqli_error($letsconnect);

} $letsconnect->close();

}

}

?>

Ok phew, the menu data capturing section is done.

Let's move on to the user data capturing section, and modify the content capturing screen.

Repeat the steps above and create these two screens. Remember to keep an eye out for our database field names that we defined earlier! If you get stuck, look at the end result below:

Create adduser.php in your backend folder.

Create your data capturing form.

<form method="post" action="<?php $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>"/>

<input type="text" name="username" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Username" required/>

<input type="password" name="password" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Password" required />

<input type="email" name="email" class="mytextbox" placeholder="Email" required />

<input type="submit" value="Save Menu Item" name="saveuser" class="mybutton"/>

</form>

Add your PHP processing code, remember the security!

Add this above your <form> tag.

<?php

if(isset($_POST[‘saveuser])){

include('../includes/conn.php');

if ($letsconnect->connect_error) {

die("Your Connection failed: " . $letsconnect->connect_error);

}else{

$menuname = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST[‘username']);

$item = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST[‘password']);

$itemlink = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST[‘email']);

$sql = "INSERT INTO menus(username,password,email) VALUES ('".$username."', '".$password."', '".$email."')";

if (mysqli_query($letsconnect, $sql)) {

echo "Your data was saved successfully!";

} else { echo "Error: " . $sql . "" . mysqli_error($letsconnect);

} $letsconnect->close();

}

}

?>

Please note that I will be covering Password security in the tutorials that follow.

Make sure that you are using your localhost server to complete this tutorial series. Do not publish your work until you complete this series.

Lastly, let's move to our content capturing screen which is currently found in index.php in the backend folder.

We will be changing this to a more professional dashboard in the tutorials that follow!
Our current file looks like this:

<html>

<head><title>Backend - Capture Content</title></head>

<body>

<?php

if(isset($_POST['savedata'])){

include('../includes/conn.php');

if ($letsconnect->connect_error) {

die("Your Connection failed: " . $letsconnect->connect_error);

}else{

$title = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST['title']);

$content = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST['content']);

$author = $letsconnect -> real_escape_string($_POST['author']);

$sql = "INSERT INTO content (title,content,author) VALUES ('".$title."', '".$content."', '".$author."')";

if (mysqli_query($letsconnect, $sql)) {

echo "Your data was saved successfully!";

} else { echo "Error: " . $sql . "" . mysqli_error($letsconnect);

} $letsconnect->close();

}

}

?>

<form action="<?php $_SERVER[‘PHP_SELF'];?>" method="post">

<input type="text" name="title" placeholder="Content Title here" required/>

<textarea name="content">Content Here</textarea>

<input type="text" name="author" placeholder="Author" required/>

<input type="submit" value="Save My Data" name="savedata"/>

</form>

</body>

</html>

We need to modify this slightly to include our new field, content_type.

Add the input field in your <form> above the submit button.

<input type="text" name="content_type" placeholder="Content Type" required/>;

Next, add the content_type to the sanitization lineup.

$content_type = $letsconnect->real_escape_string($_POST['content_type']);

Lastly, store this variable to the database by modifying the $sql.

$sql = "INSERT INTO content (title,content,author,content_type) VALUES ('".$title."', '".$content."', '".$author."', '".$content_type."')";

Conclusion

Chopping and changing is not always as daunting. Find a rhythm. There are many ways to make cumbersome coding a breeze and we will delve into that in the tutorials to come.

Challenge

Think of ways to test what we just did through retrieving and echoing data from the database.

Next Up: #CodeWithMe Part 5 Building a good base Continued