jpsFW
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which language to use as a beginner???
not sure this is the correct forum to place a question like this but was hoping for some guidance:
i started to write using asp vbscript using dreamweaver over ms access to write some work based data driven web solutions. didn't get very far and changed to php and mySQL which i like - it works for me!
Is this the right way to go - i want to take what i learnt a lot further but don't know if i have made the right choice for scripting and dbs
i started to write using asp vbscript using dreamweaver over ms access to write some work based data driven web solutions. didn't get very far and changed to php and mySQL which i like - it works for me!
Is this the right way to go - i want to take what i learnt a lot further but don't know if i have made the right choice for scripting and dbs
i would say yes, although knowing both can be handy. php and mysql are free and widely used, hosting is cheap etc. i prefer to use PHP than ASP.
If I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me but as far as I'm aware php & mySQL are geared more towards linux/unix webservers and ASP & ms access are geared towards windows based webservers. I personally would stick to php & mySQL - they're easy to learn and as u have pointed out, free
Michael
Michael
I think you can stay using PHP, even because you already have tested out ASP and you know about both technologies now and you are able to decide which language you prefer. And I think the usage of PHP and demand for PHP programmers is bigger then for ASP's. I am actually using ASP but I know that the company I am working for prefers using expensive Micorosoft solutions. Most companies do not so, they prefer cheaper solutions, so PHP programmers are needed.
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Ok I am gonna throw this out. But personaly my first web language was Cold Fusion. Cold Fusion looks alot like HTML in the way it is structured and pretty easy to pick up. Not saying that PHP and ASP are not good languages to start learning. Unfortunetly depending on what market your in demand for Cold Fusion may not be the correct choice for getting a job.
Just an idea of how nice Cold Fusion is you can have a form with the same field names as your table. Then submit to a .cfml page as the action and the corrosponding cfml page can automaticaly insert all the data into the database with one line of code. Now thats not the most efficient way to do it, and sometimes the really streamlined easy stuff has problems with peculiarities like dates but it is by far the most beginner friendly language I have learned. I have programmed in all three however since my clients all have different platforms. But when I have a choice I love Cold Fusion.
Now some people may complain that Cold Fusion is not free. And that is true, however you can download a personal version you can run on your personal PC to learn the language for free. A company created a product by the name of Blue Dragon which is an CFML interpreter and that program does have a free version. And if your hosting with a company like uplinkearth.com you can get an account for around $5 a month that will allow you to use Access databases and Cold Fusion so it's not that expensive to learn.
Just my 2 cents based on personal experience. If your looking to get a job, you will limit your options if Cold Fusion is the only one you know. But if your just starting out I think it's a bit easier the way it handles database interactions then PHP and ASP when you first start out.
Just an idea of how nice Cold Fusion is you can have a form with the same field names as your table. Then submit to a .cfml page as the action and the corrosponding cfml page can automaticaly insert all the data into the database with one line of code. Now thats not the most efficient way to do it, and sometimes the really streamlined easy stuff has problems with peculiarities like dates but it is by far the most beginner friendly language I have learned. I have programmed in all three however since my clients all have different platforms. But when I have a choice I love Cold Fusion.
Now some people may complain that Cold Fusion is not free. And that is true, however you can download a personal version you can run on your personal PC to learn the language for free. A company created a product by the name of Blue Dragon which is an CFML interpreter and that program does have a free version. And if your hosting with a company like uplinkearth.com you can get an account for around $5 a month that will allow you to use Access databases and Cold Fusion so it's not that expensive to learn.
Just my 2 cents based on personal experience. If your looking to get a job, you will limit your options if Cold Fusion is the only one you know. But if your just starting out I think it's a bit easier the way it handles database interactions then PHP and ASP when you first start out.
Lots of PHP fans here, eh? :)
Just to put my two cents in, you should consider ASP.NET in C#. It may be challenging for a beginner (something to consider), but if you're looking at the longview it is certainly a good language. It requires real object oriented programming skills (PHP and ASP are both interpretive), and if you are able to develop some skill in ASP.NET w/ C# you could easily move into programming other than web apps. But I'd only recommend this if you're up to a challenge (not an insurmountable one, but still, a challenge not to be taken lightly).
Just to put my two cents in, you should consider ASP.NET in C#. It may be challenging for a beginner (something to consider), but if you're looking at the longview it is certainly a good language. It requires real object oriented programming skills (PHP and ASP are both interpretive), and if you are able to develop some skill in ASP.NET w/ C# you could easily move into programming other than web apps. But I'd only recommend this if you're up to a challenge (not an insurmountable one, but still, a challenge not to be taken lightly).
I definitely prefer PHP, however I tend to find that its easier to do string-parsing in PERL ...
Its also nice to be able to create modules of re-usable code with PERL...
Coldfusion may have some nice shortcuts but as a programmer thats forced to use it by my work, It feels very limiting with its syntax (I started with PHP & PERL)... For a beginner it would probably be nice as its similar to HTML with tags for almost everything... Coldfusion comes with Dreamweaver MX which is a nice program however you will need to find a hosting service that supports coldfusion on their servers in order for your code to work...
~Stu :-)
Its also nice to be able to create modules of re-usable code with PERL...
Coldfusion may have some nice shortcuts but as a programmer thats forced to use it by my work, It feels very limiting with its syntax (I started with PHP & PERL)... For a beginner it would probably be nice as its similar to HTML with tags for almost everything... Coldfusion comes with Dreamweaver MX which is a nice program however you will need to find a hosting service that supports coldfusion on their servers in order for your code to work...
~Stu :-)