PHP or ASP?

[DennisTheMenace]

I am a ASP and SQL Programmer. I have built a few database driven websites and know ASP & SQL quite well. Just picked up ASP.NET.

I am about to build a NEW website with a database backend in SQL, but it will be customer driven & dynamic... Visitors will need to be able to upload images (with restrictions in file size and dimensions) and thumbnails will need to be created on the fly. The customers will also fill in lots of information into tables that will then be displayed as web pages - including the images that were uplaoded...

A friend said I should do it in PHP, but I am not familiar at all with PHP... So... my question is, do I learn PHP? Or build the site from scratch with my own code using .NET? Or, is there something better or the community could recommend??

Figured I would get some input before I pick a path! Thanks everyone!
-Dennis


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Remember - YOU ARE UNIQUE!!!... Just like EVERYONE ELSE! ;o)

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

If you know ASP or ASP.Net, but no PHP, then surely there's no contest - use what you already know.

Dan



Coedit Limited - Delivering standards compliant, accessible web solutions

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[blueark]

You say you just picked up ASP.NET? I use ASP.NET almost exclusively at the moment, but I would make the point that it is very different from classic ASP. In other words, whether you choose PHP or ASP.NET, there's going to be a learning curve. Personally, I'd never go back though.

Unlike many (most?) people on this forum, I don't know PHP well enough to make a comparison. I like using ASP.NET 2.0 with C#, and the new free tools from MS (Visual Web Developer Express) make it relatively easy to get started. Also, because your code is "compiled" (sort of) rather than interpreted, it runs very quickly, especially useful for dynamic image creation. Once you get used to the object oriented approach, maintenance is much easier than with classic ASP.

On the downside, it took me a while to learn initially as I kept thinking it was supposed to be like classic ASP, and you don't have as much choice about what servers you can run on (i.e. Windows). The Mono project is opening that up though.

That said, there is a much larger PHP community out there, so it's easier to find ready-made scripts and frameworks, saving lots of time. It's also easier to get help from human beings -- ASP.NET often seems to be dominated by programmers who speak a different language!

I think either one is worth learning, and I'm certainly going to make an effort to learn more about PHP this year, but I would certainly consider making a move away from classic ASP.

 

[DennisTheMenace]

But aren't some of those features built right into PHP? (I really don't know - that is why I posted) That way I wouldn't have to actually build from scratch, an image uploader, image resizer, thumb nail generator, and site builder.

-Dennis

=====================
Remember - YOU ARE UNIQUE!!!... Just like EVERYONE ELSE! ;o)

 

[Wullie]

But aren't some of those features built right into PHP? (I really don't know - that is why I posted) That way I wouldn't have to actually build from scratch, an image uploader, image resizer, thumb nail generator, and site builder.

What is going to take you longer, building something from scratch/finding sections you require on the net or learning a whole new language and then building the application?

Hope this helps

Wullie

Fresh Look - Quality Coldfusion 7/Windows Hosting
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[DennisTheMenace]

What is going to take you longer, building something from scratch/finding sections you require on the net or learning a whole new language and then building the application?

This is the exact reason I am posting the question here. Trying to figure that out. If 90% of what I need (features to go on the new site) are already "in" PHP, Cold Fusion, .NET, etc... (such as image upload, forum, page builder...) then that is the way I would probably go so that I wouldn't have to build them from scratch. I guess I was hoping for some input on those aspects.

I suppose I could formulate more specific questions and features to post to each of the individual forums.

Thanks!
-Dennis

=====================
Remember - YOU ARE UNIQUE!!!... Just like EVERYONE ELSE! ;o)

 

[BabyJeffy]

I moved to PHP recreationally from JSP a few years back. It's syntax is very straightforward if you can read javascript or have c-based skills (and java etc). My experience is that there are LOTS of open source and free PHP scripts/libraries around... and they were well supported (via forums etc). I have never looked to see if the same exists in the .NET world - but I bet this is the case.

I would suggest you identify the requirements and look around to see where you might source the parts... with a view to bolting them together and hand-rolling some code as you go. You will certainly be able to make up your own mind on the server choice based on what free/open source libraries/scripts etc you like the sound of.

You can certainly do all the things you have talked about on .NET and on PHP without a problem. One reason you might choose to go PHP would be cost... it's free, and many more hosting companies offer this (at a cometitive price) than .NET. You may want to consider mySQL (also free) if you choose PHP.

Cheers,
Jeff

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What is Javascript? FAQ216-6094

 

[GUJUm0deL]

Is Coldfusion not an option?

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[DennisTheMenace]

Yes. Coldfusion is an option.

=====================
Remember - YOU ARE UNIQUE!!!... Just like EVERYONE ELSE! ;o)

 

[Wullie]

Well, with Coldfusion you have the image uploading, image resizer and the thumb nail generator pretty much built in. (Resizing/thumbnail can be done using free CFX tags) so the only thing you are left with would be the site builder. No language is going to have a site builder built in, so this really depends on what exactly you are looking for.

Hope this helps

Wullie

Fresh Look - Quality Coldfusion 7/Windows Hosting
YetiHost - Coming Soon

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell

 

[GUJUm0deL]

CFD also has another advantage. CF's coding syntax follows that of HTML, so its faster to pick and implement. And, query calls in CF are 1000x easier; its as simple as:

<cfquery name="" datasource="">
  select id1, id2
  from myTable
</cfquery>

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[Foamcow]

I've got some PHP functions somewhere that I wrote to handle image uploading and thumbnail generation.

I'll try and find them... I could do with them myself for something actually.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
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[TamedTech]

I'll agree with Wullie on this one.

Untill around 6 months ago I had very limited knowledge of server side languages, I maintained a few PHP sites and had work a little with the first generation of ASP.

However; I took the plunge into the coldfusion side of things, and have to agree that it is an excelent way for developing applications.

I've had my doubts at certain points, reading about .NET and all its fabulous benefits and intergration into visual studio and C, but to be honest I cant say im yet to even imagine a development task that CF would not be able to give me the tools for.

It's not even as if we have massive outlays on licencing costs any more, you can get shared CF hosting almost free of charge from a whole host of providers now.

The syntax is excelently clean, keeping things tag based is an excelent method, not only because its clean and simle to write, but its just as clean and simple to read and maintain. So if you're working on a large scale project you could quite happily trust one of the junior developers to get thier hands dirty with it.

People have suggested that you stick with whatever you know, which makes perfect sence, however if you current knowledge is lmited, then I can't promote the benefits of CF enough.

I know this document is a little out of date, but have a look at it.

http://www.easycfm.com/compare/cf_asp_jsp.cfm

Thanks,

Rob