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marshy28
02-25-2003, 05:38 PM
I am wanting to learn a new programming launage but dont know which will be best or easyist to learn.

I know about html and javascript but nothing of the above two.

Which is best PHP or ASP?

Thanks

Marshy
pyro
02-25-2003, 05:55 PM
Originally posted by marshy28
Which is best PHP or ASP?You could start a war with that question... :D

I personally use PHP, but I don't think it is a question of "best". I think it is which are you going to be most comfortable with? If you've ever done any Perl programming, then PHP will be quite easy to pick up. PHP is also closer to javascript that ASP is, so that might be another added benefit of PHP. Also, it seems to me that more host support PHP, but maybe that is just because I go looking for ones that do...

PHP is also an open source langauge, whereas Micro$oft has control over ASP (yet another plug for PHP!). Basically you will just have to decide which is going to be the best for you...
Da Warriah
02-25-2003, 06:44 PM
i would personally suggest PHP, simply because thats all i have ever used...never used ASP...but i can assure you, PHP is very easy to learn, and very useful for just about anything:D and im sure ASP is too, but if i had to choose, id lean towards PHP...
Jona
02-25-2003, 07:59 PM
I use Perl myself, but your question is PHP or ASP. ASP runs best on Windows servers, while PHP runs on Unix servers. ASP is Microsoft's version of PHP. It's really not bad, and pretty cool and useful, but PHP is, in my opinion, much easier to learn. PHP and Perl don't take much of a learning curve at all, well, if you know Javascript, they come really easily. ASP is a lot of like VBScript, so if you know that or Visual Basic, ASP is where you should start.

I always, though, lean towards my Perl. I like the syntax, and it has its own scripting engine, called PerlScript, which is like Server-side Javascript, and it's very useful. The best part is, I can use PerlScript, ASP, and Perl all at the same time! So I can use PerlScript in an .asp file, and use it to call information from the .asp file itself, rather than using ASP in the actual page.

In short, it's basically a "find out for yourself" sort of thing.

By the way, Pyro, you may have found a lot of PHP hosts, but I've found around 30 or so sites that provide free access to ASP (or so they claim). So, you're probably right, it depends on where your bias is :D
pyro
02-25-2003, 08:10 PM
Originally posted by Jona
So, you're probably right, it depends on where your bias is :D I'm quite sure that is so...I've debated this one before. :p

One advantage that PHP/ASP have over Perl is the fact that you can swap in and out of HTML. For instance, you can do stuff like this:

<body>
<p>This is my first paragraph</p>
<?PHP
$ip = $REMOTE_ADDR;
echo $ip;
?>
<p>This is my second paragraph</p>
</body>

Makes it very easy to interact between PHP and the rest of you page.
Jona
02-25-2003, 08:19 PM
Well, PerlScript can do that. ;) That's why I said that. Besides, in Perl, I can do that easier: I don't even have to add a tag:

Say I have the variable $foo with the value of "Hi there!" All I have to do is print my page:

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n";
print "<h1>$foo</h1>"

Whereas with ASP/PHP, you have a whole new tag <% ASP code %> or <? PHP code ?>.

And, if I want to edit an HTML page, from a script, I just open the file, write to it, and then I can just write the file out.

Plus, PerlScript allows me to call server-side functions just like Javascript:

<Script language="PerlScript">
</SCRIPT>

And I can even call ASP and PHP information from it. So I can use PerlScript in an .asp or .php file.
PeOfEo
02-25-2003, 08:59 PM
I personally reccomend asp.net because it can be done with visual basic 6 code and thats what I picked because I am alredy fluid in it. Just look at script from each, look at books, buy a book and learn one.
Jona
02-25-2003, 09:08 PM
I personally believe that VB6 is very limited. ASP.net is pretty good, but I still prefer perl or PHP, for the Web, anyways.

Pyro, you were right! We already did start a war! :D
MikeOS
02-25-2003, 09:39 PM
I pretty much agree with others on this, the argument could go on forever. However I would avoid classic asp (which is anything up to and including ASP 3.0) and go for asp.net, as that is the latest version. With regards to PHP I keep hearing PHP 5 is around the corner, and that it is a radical change from previous PHP versions. I mean you might spend your time learning php 4.x only to find PHP 5 comes out and you'll have to learn it all over again (that is if it is as much of a radical change I keep hearing it is going to be - maybe others who know more can pick up on this point further, it could be just a rumour).

Anyway if you do choose ASP then make sure it's ASP.Net, as .Net is big and is the future.
Jona
02-25-2003, 09:56 PM
Perl 5.8.0 is out (I think that's the right one) already. Yes, but when latest versions of server-side, like client-side, languages come out, chances are not all clients will be able to use it as soon as it comes out. So if PHP 5 is that big of a change, stick with PHP 4 for a while. And, besides, if you know a language, learning another one is always much easier.
PeOfEo
02-26-2003, 12:24 PM
I personally believe that VB6 is very limited
how do you figure? Anyways becaus of the fact that asp.net can be done with many many languages means that you can use another language to make of for what the language you use lacks. Though it whould get confusing to use different languages in the same application. But vb6 is not limited at all in my opinion. Give me one example where you think it is.
Ribeyed
02-26-2003, 01:14 PM
hi,
i am going to side with the ASP following on this one. Having spend 3 years working with ASP classic (3.0) i feel it does have everything you will need for building web sites.
Saying that i have never ever looked at php or perl, beacuse i haven't had to.
I agree if you decide to learn ASP then you would save yourself a lot of time learning if you miss out ASP 3 and go straight into ASP.NET. ASP.NET is the newest technology around and is set to push web development to another level. If you are looking to be building web applications and not just web sites then ASP.NET is the way to go.
ASP.NET advantages over the rest is its cross platform capabilities, the core of ASP.NET is all XML. XML is deeply entrenched inside the whole .NET development framework - it is used as the main transport format for ADO.NET and the Messaging Services. The .NET base class libraries have complete support for XML, and XML-driven application development. Another advantage is that it is meant to be true Object orientated Programming like JAVA.
As PeOfEo has pointed out ASP.NET can be written in about 16 different languages such as; C#, Visual Basic, JScript, C++, Python, SmallTalk, Eiffel and COBOL to name a few.
On cross browser capabilities ASP.NET is second to none. Short of forcing your users to use a single browser, your application will have to support many browsers, and this provides the developers with many challenges to over come. It is difficult if not impossible, to have a web application support all web browsers-it certainly takes far too much time and resources. Thankfully, ASP.NET has a solution to this scenario, which uses ASP.NET server controls. So you can let the ASP.NET environment deal with browser compatibility issues for you.
Depending on an internal setting, you can tell ASP.NET to generate run of the mill HTML3.2 code for the browser with very limited scripting, or you can tell it to produce browser-specific code, which checks the capabilities of the browser and then sends code to the browser optimized for it. It also takes advantage of any advanced browser features available. This process is referred to as "browser down-levelling" and "browser up-levelling". I will finish up by mentioning that ASP.NET operates in a Runtime environment just like JAVA.
Personally I think ASP.NET is awesome and have the potential to become number one for web developers at the moment not a lot of developers are using it but that’s only because it’s so new. Perl, ASP, Php are all old technologies and will not be around in a few years time, well the current versions anyway.
jpmoriarty
02-26-2003, 01:32 PM
just thought i'd point out that:

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n";
print "<h1>$foo</h1>"

can be done in php in exactly the same way:


<?php
$variable = "Nice day isn't it";
?>
My friend said to me &quot;How's the weather&quot;
<?php
echo "and I said \"$variable\"";
?>
Jona
02-26-2003, 08:00 PM
just thought i'd point out that

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n";
print "<h1>$foo</h1>"

can be done in php in exactly the same way


True, however, Perl is a lot easier to read in my opinion. I like the way it looks, too. It's just my preference, but Perl and PHP are definitely not in competition.. are they? Well, nevertheless, I'm going to learn both; and use the one that works best for each individual task as it comes. Of course, I'm starting with Perl first. :)
cscartman
02-27-2003, 08:01 AM
Well im only 15 and no php farly well so for a 15 year thats good and theres 13yr olds that know it better than me if u look on topwebgames.com lol so i have to say php is easier i looked at asp code and didnt understand it for a beginner look at the tutorial on webmonkey by tim php from the ground up and it gives you the basics and tells u were to look for more information too
Jona
02-27-2003, 11:33 AM
I'm 13, and I'm learning Perl right now. By the time I'm 15, I'll know PHP very well. I'm just learning Perl first. After PHP, I'm going to learn ASP and ASP.NET. Then I'm going to learn Java, then C#.
cscartman
02-27-2003, 11:44 AM
i no fortran and qbasic and a little c/c++ not much just the basics and javascript html,css,dhtml, and flash is the easiest i think i made a couple games for powerpets.com im updateing them to flash 5 now
Jona
02-27-2003, 11:52 AM
I know Javascript, html, dhtml, css, and I would know Flash if I had the money to purchase the program. I taught myself everything I know. I only got one small Javascript book, and that's it.
cscartman
02-27-2003, 02:33 PM
well i dont buy anything myself and i learn everything myself too were i get software well kazaa all for free its better than buying everything like corel draw a 3,000$ program for free on kazaa lol jusu goto download.com and get it
PeOfEo
02-27-2003, 04:39 PM
I still say asp.net is the way to go. Jona I still dont understand why you think vb6 is limited. From an offline standpoint it might be because c++ puts it to shame but how is it limited on the internet? What in particular can it not do that makes you think it is limited?
Jona
02-27-2003, 05:17 PM
Sorry, I have a problem with wording things. I just don't like the way VB is written. It makes it more limited. Plus, on the Internet, it doesn't work with Netscape, that's all.

cscartman, what exactly is Kazaa? I've heard about it, and searched for it before, but I never found it.
PeOfEo
02-27-2003, 08:28 PM
You strike a good point there. But I whould only use vb for server side anyway and thats dynamically creating the content so the browser does not actually have to read the vb. I think that if you use the language by itsself... yes you are right it is limited but if you use it in a different manner or change the proccess a little it can be a valuble tool, but thats just coming from me. Java script can also be use with asp but I dont like the structure of that language as much... you can argue that java script is limited but there again it depends on where and how you are using it.
Da Warriah
02-28-2003, 03:53 PM
Originally posted by Jona
what exactly is Kazaa? I've heard about it, and searched for it before, but I never found it.

Kazaa is a *****peer networking system, that allows for the downloading of files from others systems, the files that theyve placed in certain folders on their computer can be downloaded onto your own computer...it originally started out with music files (similar to napster), but has grown into the downloading of all sorts of files, like software, images, movies, music, you name it, you can most likely get it...of course, theres the fact that most of it is pretty much illegal...but of course, with like millions of users, theres not much hope that it will really be shut down...its now one of the number one p2p programs out there...

anyways, back to ASP vs. PHP...;)
PeOfEo
03-01-2003, 10:00 AM
I don't use kazza, infact I have not downloaded anything for a long, long time. I was just always afriad of viruses on kazza because my friend quarantined one he got from that site recently. I use winmx for music... but I have not downloaded music for a while.