Which software to use? 1

[wayneryeven]

Hi All
Bit of a straight, to the point question...

I am commecning build of a new website, that needs a backend DB to hold user/transaction info etc. Users i hope to be >1000.

I have lost track of current trends in development world, what is my best/preferred software to pick up knowledge on again? i.e. What database backend to use? What language for front end coding etc?

Many thanks for your time and replies.

 

[r937]

what did you use before? are you going to do all the coding yourself, or hire it out?

where are you going to host the site? what software is available on that host?

r937.com | rudy.ca
Buy my new book Simply SQL from Amazon

 

[wayneryeven]

what i used before was circa 15 years ago and the landscape then was much different to what it is today.

I will attempt as much of the design and coding as possible.

The hosting as not been selected, i wish to understand what is the de facto standard out there before making any financial committments?

 

[r937]

you can't go wrong with php and mysql

well, that's not exactly true -- you can go wrong with every single combination of technologies out there

but these two products are extremely popular, to the point where they are usually available, free of charge, on most web hosts

and there's a much better chance that if you run into a snag you can't solve yourself, there will be competent support people easily available, online or right in your neighbourhood

r937.com | rudy.ca
Buy my new book Simply SQL from Amazon

 

[wayneryeven]

Ok thanks- thats sort of what i had picked up thus far. mySQL i have downloaded and will familiarise myself with it. Thanks for your input, helps alot.

 

[BigRed1212]

Classic ASP and Access is pretty much entry level (and what I function at) and were always the thing to have in a Microsoft world, but Access won't do 1000 users.

ASP.NET MVC and SQL Server would handle it but your learning curve will be pretty steep.

PHP and mySQL is a fine choice in my opinion. If I had time and gumption, I would learn them and switch over. Tons of cheap hosts for it.

I think running my own LAMP box would be fun, but it's more skill than I have at the moment.

 

[djj55]

One thing to consider is, what is to be stored in the database. If there is personal information you may need to encrypt the database.

Since I have not worked with very many databases I cannot give a good suggestion.

djj
The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23) - I need someone to lead me!

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Don't forget there also is the Java world, and it's strong on Android smartphones, too. For the web that means Tomcat & Java Servlets for example.

For a judgment of the landscape, take a look at tiobe:

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

It's kind of weird to mix full programming languages with rather limited sql or even more specific academic languages like lisp, ada, logo. But the index is made with several indicators in mind and a good indicator.

Java is in the lead, it's even more cross plattform than PHP, was there before PHP and thus is very mature, also still in development and active. You can see PHP has made a drop, mainly because C# is getting the better Java on Windows plattforms at least. and ObjectiveC is string through the Apple app market.

So PHP+Mysql is a choice nevertheless, all that I said about Java is true for PHP+MySQL, too. The learning curve is not that steep as with Java and the hosting plans include these technologies. I also do PHP rather than Java, but I'd also take a look at other databases besides mysql.

PDO is a strong class to use in PHP for access of many databases, of which I'd mention PostgreSQL. I think alone of index options and query optimisation with them.

Much more details:

http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/MySQL_vs_PostgreSQL

It will be harder to find hosting for PostgreSQL, but not impossible. Depends on your location, Google is your friend of course.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[MasterRacker]

Thinking out of the box a little, not knowing the purpose of the site, might could you use a prebuilt CMS like Joomla for your main infrastructure? You mentioned transactions and Joomla has add-ons for about everything including e-commerce storefronts.

Jeff
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"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]