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General discussion

Choice of Programming language to create webpages

Jun 10, 2008 2:34PM PDT

I am confused about choosing the Programming language to create websites. I get confused to determine which programming language I should choose -ASP.NET, PHP or JSP.

Which is better, robust and highly secured language - ASP.NET, PHP or JSP ?

Which has bright future ?

Kindly help me to choose appropriate language.

Discussion is locked

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Webpages are created with HTML
Jun 10, 2008 5:05PM PDT

That stands for HyperText Markup Language - programming, like PHP, adds functionality. What is it you want to do with your webpage?

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Choice of Programming language
Jun 10, 2008 5:12PM PDT

I want to start my career as web developer. That is why I want to expertise in any particular excellent programming language.

I do not know which programming language works fine and ranks first in the world.

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Re: choice of programming language
Jun 10, 2008 5:35PM PDT

There are quite a few possibilities here:

Simple static websites: html/javascript only. Might have java-applets or flash to make it more attractive of more functional.

Websites that are maintained via a CMS. A CMS (like Joomla) comes out of the box. You might need some knowledge to set it up, but then it can be used without any knowledge of programming.

Websites with dynamic content. And that's what you probably want. PHP is a common way to do those. But so are Java/JSP based sites. And certainly sites programmed in Microsofts .Net. ASP.net is somewhat older. And there's Ruby on Rails, which is fairly popular. And there are several Ajax based development tools. And Adobe is rather active with tools like Adobe Air. And then there's Google Apps, which lets you build applications in Python.
Taking everything together, the choice for a development environment seems more important than the specific language to use. In fact, Microsoft .Net offers multiple languages.
It's impossible to say which one is best.

Kees

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A correction
Jun 21, 2008 1:24PM PDT

ASP.Net isn't a language. C#.Net or VB.Net would be languages one can use for ASP.Net but there is also HTML, JavaScript and CSS that are also worth learning in addition to the question of whether you want to get into Flex or Flash which is another topic one can have.

The robustness and security of a site depend a lot on server software that is independent of what you list as there is Apache or Microsoft's IIS or other software that can make a computer act as a web server.

JB

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PHP and Java Script
Jun 25, 2008 5:18PM PDT

It basically depends on which type of site you are making. But you should use PHP because it is very strong and is supported by every browser. And to make your site more attractive you should use Java Scripts.

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Re: PHP
Jun 26, 2008 5:33AM PDT

That's certainly incorrect, if you write that PHP is supported by every browser. In fact, it isn't supported by browsers at all. Browsers know exactly nothing about PHP. It's a server-side language.

Javascript is client-side. Indeed, it can be used to make sites more attractive. But just as well, it can be used to make it slower and less attractive.

Kees

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You are not correct!
Jun 26, 2008 7:51AM PDT

PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language for creating dynamic and interactive websites.

PHP is the widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP. PHP is perfectly suited for Web development and can be embedded directly into the HTML code.

The PHP syntax is very similar to Perl and C. PHP is often used together with Apache (web server) on various operating systems. It also supports ISAPI and can be used with Microsoft's IIS on Windows.

And to prove this visit this link :
http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp

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That's what I said.
Jun 26, 2008 5:57PM PDT

PHP is server-side. You use PHP to create html and javascript on the fly. And (if it's correct html and correct javascript) it's compatible with every browser. But PHP itself isn't.

Kees

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All of them...
Jul 6, 2008 5:23PM PDT

Have a bright future.

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Re : Choice of Programming language to create webpages
Aug 10, 2008 10:28PM PDT

All the above are correct. What I want to add as a web developer myself, is that each server side technology you need to use and you could select, have something special to offer not in the sense of software constructs - because all are highly competitive and offer virtually everything, but in the sense of usability, easiness in certain aspects, maintenance etc. That said, I mean that using for instance .NET technologies, it is granted that you will have two primary advantages: easiness in coding and much ready-to-use software by many developers worldwide.There is no doubt that we are talking about leading edge technologies, but as you probably know already, though much free software has been released lately, using Microsoft technologies, in the Enterprise level, is always connected with high costs and to be honest, I think they're right.They offer solutions and help in any kind of software problem, so this must be paid.
The other side of coin. open source software, offers very good technologies and solutions for the web( PHP, Java technologies, Perl,...), many frameworks to work in and have ready-to-use code for free and in some cases even at the Enterprise level(!),or with some small fees. Their support has got dramatically better recently(talking about the last 3 - 4 years or something like that).
So it's up to you, what branch you will eventually follow and your decision must be based upon what size are the solutions you want to offer, what is your personal preference about programming(that is do you like VB programming or prefer C style,which programming language and related technologies are more attractive, convenient, etc. to you), does it serve your professional targets to choose one or the other etc.
As you see there is no "good" or "bad" programming language, technology etc. It all depends on you. For instance, it is harder to learn good C programming and even harder to learn C++, but your effort will be paid back because these are worldwide known, as the languages for "real programmers".If you wonder what C or C++ has to do with web development, I tell you that this path I followed myself without being a programmer but a web developer, and this paid back because programming in Java or PHP, or in other web programming languages became much,much easier!
Finally, the steps I would suggest for a want-to-be web developer are:

1.Very good grasping of HTML,XHTML and after these XML,if you want to work for B2B, B2C or other enterprise level solutions.

2.Very good grasping of client - side technologies and languages( I would suggest the apparent: Javascript ).

3.A general grasping and coverage of all kinds os server - side technologies, even to some low extend, so to have a general idea about all this stuff and to find which matches better to your personal preferences.

4.Mastering of a certain bunch of related technologies( e.g .NET - SQLServer, PHP - MySQL, JSP - Servlets - MySQL etc.).

There are two comments I didn't mention in this brief discussion:

First, besides the programming stuff you have to master, in the now and (hopefully) future web the role of RDBMS( Relational Database Management Systems), is of extremely high importance. So for everything beyond a bunch of static pages, with some funny easy-to-make interactions, that is not the case nowadays, the construction of a database no matter the size, is sure to be necessary.

Second, there are some factors that are not subjective in the various web technologies. For instance the use of Java as a server - side technology, is more complicated than the use of PHP for instance (at least this holds true for the most part), but the solutions Java gives you are far more professional and can be far more "Enterprise level" than the other. All you have to do is to grasp the logic of Java development, and this will lead you step by step to success.
For another instance, the use of PHP is far more better, safe and professional than older (mainly C.G.I with Perl) technologies.
As a final factor, keep in mind the day by day(hour by hour in some instances) acceptance that Open Source Software gains nowadays.
Wish you to choose the better!