Although, what specifically makes it cheaper and how does it relate to the fact that PHP creates an isolated process per request? If we made the Java project using the same coding style, would it be the same cost?
You could almost use the same coding style, typically you don’t what to leak data between handler threads in Java so you can write in similar fashion where you start from scratch at every request.
But Java has more ceremony with the stricter type system.
A bigger problem (at least with older Java versions) is string building and templating. You typically do a lot of string stuff in web development.
Deployments and dependency management are worse with the wars and the jars and how to build them.
PHP is closer to the metal so to speak where many APIs are thin layers around various C libraries, e.g I find working with database (JDBC?) in Java annoying. I feels like Java is it’s own island in that way.
Java’s plus is better performance for CPU heavy tasks, connection pooling and easier when you do things asynchronous. Streams are a plus too. But those things are not important enough to pick Java over PHP IMHO.
