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Php Vs Javascript For Dynamic Html Pages

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Typically when I put together dynamically generated HTML markup, I've been using PHP to store the information and then looping through that to create elements on the page. One exam

Solution 1:

Doing it client side means:

  1. Doing it in lots of different environments instead of a single one
  2. Having it break whenever a user comes along without JS (for whatever reason)
  3. Having it fail to work for the vast majority of bots (including search engines)
  4. Investing development time in converting all your logic
  5. Requiring the browser to make additional requests to the server, slowing down load times

When deciding if you should do something client side instead of server side, as a rule of thumb ask yourself two questions:

  1. Would the user benefit from getting instant feedback in response to them doing something? e.g. An error message for improper data in a form they are trying to submit. If so, then doing it client side would be beneficial.
  2. Can it be done server side? If so, do it server side first as it is more reliable (and for non-cosmetic things, harder to interfere with). Build on things that work.

Solution 2:

It's not an either one or the other type of situation; generally you will need to do both.

Doing it client side will probably be slower, as the server still needs to figure out all the data but the client needs to render it; this will involve multiple requests (most likely) and DOM manipulation is slow (especially on older browsers).

Solution 3:

Best practice would be to produce any necessary markup on the server side. Reasons for this include:

SEO: Most crawler bots won't parse Javascript, so they'll skip over anything crucial that you're generating with addElement.

Accessibility: Your site should basically functional without Javascript. Consider people who might be browsing your site on Kindles, older Blackberries, Nokias or other feature phones with data. They don't need all the fancy styles and effects, but they should at least be able to get around your site.

Consistency: JS can add yet another level of cross-browser variability. Why rely on client-side rendering of necessary markup? Do it server-side.

Of course, this advice can be taken in stride if you're developing an all-JS desktop app or using something like the Sencha Touch framework.

Solution 4:

If SEO is your concern, things are simple: JS is not indexed.

There also are UI issues: if JS is not enabled, no JS-dependent stuff will load.

Solution 5:

One possibility would be to detect what kind of user is viewing your site :

  • If it's a bot: parse on the server-side, you may just output what is needed by the bot, without graphical things,...

  • If it's a mobile : show a mobile optimized version, using something like Sencha Touch, as Charlie pointed out

  • If it's a standard browser, without javascript : render the page on the server side

  • If it's a standard browser, with javascript enables : just send the data from server side (or load it with Ajax) and render the data from the client-side

You may use something like Mustache, wich is a template engine running on many server-side languages (PHP, Ruby, Java,... but also on Javascript, enabling client-side page rendering!

And try to use a Javascript framework like jQuery, Mootools, Dojo or ExtJS, they will help you to write code that will run on every browser.

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