Differences between programming languages

[kbert777]

Well, it's time to move on, looking at different employment opportunities in my local setting. Ran into a question during one of the recent interviews for a position as a Web Developer that I think I could have answered much better, but it pretty much caught me of guard. Here it is:

Describe the differences between programming for the web and traditional 3rd/4th generation languages.

While I came up with some differences I would really like to hear how other people would have responded.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[strongm]

>PHP started as a way for Rasmus Lerdorf to monitor the number of times his resume was accessed on his web site

1. Yes, as a set of Perl Scripts.

2. I'm not convinced that Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans could be considered 'hobbyists'

3. One example, even if you accpet it, still doesn't support the "hobbyists...many languages" argument that I'm adverse to.

 

[jwenting]

2. I'm not convinced that Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans could be considered 'hobbyists'


There's a difference between "as a hobby" and "a hobbyist".
The first implies it was done outside a formal project on a person's private time and not paid for by his employer, the second that the person is not employed in the capacity of a software developer (sometimes also used to indicate persons who ARE so employed but according to the writer should not be).

PHP was created by a software professional as a personal project, therefore a hobby.