ASP vs. ASP.NET vs. PHP

[Boof]

Hello,

I am a total beginner at this. I am looking to learn a either asp, asp.net, or php so I can make ecommerce sites for my company. I have been researching these different languages and was wonder which you all prefer and why. Thanks for any advice you have!

Beth

PS - Does anyone know of any good books that I can buy to help me get started?

[g1smd]

For cost (nil) and amount of support you get (loads), I would go with PHP on an Apache webserver... that configuration is also much easier to set up and is more easily configured for many useful things such as redirects, blocking hotlinking, serving custom error pages, and so on...

[SEFL]

ASP. I cut my teeth on it back in 2000, and I've never had a single reason to learn PHP. It can do everything I want it to do and then some...it just takes practice.

[WebSavvy]

ASP == NO WAY
PHP == YES!

:D

PHP is better IMO because you can do a lot more with it and it can easily interface with programs written in other programming languages.

I started out with HTML, then JavaScript. Then Java, then VRML, then Perl, then PHP.

Out of all of the languages I do know, I like PHP the most and it's the only language I program in anymore.

[ihelpyou]

PHP is better IMO because you can do a lot more with it and it can easily interface with programs written in other programming languages.
I have to totally agree with that. I gotta disagree with you Adam on this. As we speak, we are in the process of redoing/rebuilding an entire site that is using asp on an MS server. It's a total nightmare. Implementing our CMS system on their server is totally horrible. ASP does not have the functionality nor flexibility that PHP has. We have programmers that know "both" languages real well and totally hate when we get an ASP site. It simply will not do things that PHP can do. There is not even a good comparison between the two of them.

Adam; you started with ASP and never looked back. I can guarantee you that if you had started with PHP and then learned ASP as well, you would not be saying that you like ASP. No way. :)

[Dave Hawley]

I gotta disagree with you Adam on thisDon't forget that Adam only said: "It can do everything I want it to do and then some.

So there really nothing to dissagree on, unless you are saying it wont do all the he wants :)

[SEFL]

That's one where we probably would agree to disagree, Doug.

The problem with ASP isn't the language itself, but the way it's traditionally and conventionally implemented. Most people who use ASP base it off the samples online, which like most samples online, are incorrect, inefficient, and inflexible.

It's even led to one of the largest myths online: a website running off of an Access database cannot handle more than maybe 3 or 4 users accessing it at a time. That's true, IF you use the default ASP samples out there, due to the number of timestops and other coding inefficiencies.

But if you study it, and learn it, and learn how to optimize it (get rid of the timestops, use as few lines of code as possible, and make your own subs and functions), then it works like a charm.

I can understand why your developers would hate looking at an ASP-based site. I hate looking at most of them. I don't even try to mod them anymore...I just rebuild them from scratch

I'm not sure about this, but PHP (at least in its initial phases) was never able to support Access databases. I've got clients who know how to open them up and do queries and stuff with them, and the registration forms and things like that which I build are geared for this purpose. My one client in particular loves the idea of FTPing to my server, downloading the database, and running whatever queries he wants on it. And if it's good enough for a Ph. D., it's good enough for me. :)

Plus, I now have 2400 lines of custom ASP subs and functions that cut my development time down to about 1/5 of what it once was, so no PHP for me. :)

But again, I don't judge against anyone who wants to use PHP. I've seen it do some good stuff too. I just don't need it personally.

[ihelpyou]

Yep Dave, you are right. :)
It's even led to one of the largest myths online: a website running off of an Access database cannot handle more than maybe 3 or 4 users accessing it at a time. That's true, IF you use the default ASP samples out there, due to the number of timestops and other coding inefficiencies.
That's funny as that was one of the problems we found with this site as well. LOL Visitors would sometimes get that dreaded error message stating that there were too many users accessing it. LOL We fixed that with no problem at all. Many other problems we fixed as well, and you are "right"; as that site was built by someone with NO CLUE at all about ASP. We know all about ASP but still hate it with a passion. :D

[SEFL]

Only one problem:

Dave's not here, man. ;)

[Dave Hawley]

Who?

[chrishirst]

I have to agree with Adam, I haven't yet found anything in PHP that I would use on a regular basis that cannot be done in ASP (VbScript). Ok, there are some useful functions that are already defined in PHP that don't exist in VbScript, but a they are all easily coded as UDFs.
Over the years I have built a library of functions that gets copied into each site I do.


One of the things that bugs me about PHP is the "designed by a committee" function naming (I'd like to say convention but can't) method (or lack thereof :D ). I decided it was time to back away from PHP a bit when I found myself coding an include to redefine the more "exotic" function names (does this one have an underscore or is it .... ?)

BTW been programming in many languages for more years than I care to remember, so it's not a lack of practice :D

[srikanthsh]

Go ahead with asp -> asp.net. You need to think about your career along with your company needs.

[Blue]

Another vote for PHP here.

[Comeran]

My company uses both, we have windows and apache servers.

I would suggest PHP/apache for too many reasons to list.

That is not to say that asp.net wouldn't work out, they can all do the same things but PHP has so many free resources out there and so much help available that you won't have any trouble finding help when you need it.

You can also get lots of free tutorials and info on PHP out there.

Comeran-

[Boof]

Thanks so much for all of your help. I really appreciate all the advice and suggestions!

[montyauto]

I would prefer php for web development.
However in windows platform asp.net is much powerfull.

[ihelpyou]

Yes, that's nice. If you prefer that, you should develop your own site using php instead of not having a site at all:
http://www.ihelpyou.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=227660#post227660

You "still" don't have your own website. It's been 6 months now. Please buy your own domain and sell something or offer some kind of useful service. :)