ASP vs PHP??? and why?? newcomer

Hello...

I'm new to this forum and new into the more dynamic realms of web programming. I need some help. I have a hip hop web site I'm working on. I want to create the site mostly as a template, so the navigation links and anything else that should stay static on the sides stays static. and I also want to be able to post news on my site. I'm just starting to work on this and i was wondering the best way to go about this....

here's some examples of what i'm talking about from other sites:

URL (in php)
URL (in php)

Like I said, I'm a newcomer. what is the advantages of asp vs php for doing sites like these? and what is some good online documentation to go about developing sites similar to these?

thanx in advance

All serverside languages do the same task, its just the way that they do it. You would have to learn them all to decide which one you like working with best, its mostly a matter of preference.

Id say ASP/VB is probably easier to learn, but wont give you a very good grounding in programming because its syntax is very different to other languages.

Heck why not just get away from the argument and go with JSP, thats what I do =)

Heres some links you can learn from:

PHP: PHP Builder

ASP: ASP Resource Index

JSP: JSP Resource Index

Theres also an article titled "Building a threaded news system" in the php section on this site.

Hope this helps

I think PHP is better than ASP because it can run on any server, not like asp that can only run on windows(cept for that chilly asp or something? it really isn't anything like asp in my opinion) PHP is much stronger and faster that asp, and I know it might sounds weird(maybe even very weird ) but I had alot less bugs with PHP than with ASP(where everything bugged on me all the time).

I started with ASP and while it can do a lot if you really want power you should move towards Microsoft's new .NET technologies.

I now program ASP.NET (the technology) with C# (the programming language) and IMHO it is the best choice. Currently not as many ISPs support ASP.NET although there are LOTS who do (I can host it for you if you like).

The difference between using ASP/PHP/JSP or .NET/ASP.NET is like the difference between using DOS or Windows (sort of). Sure ASP/PHP/JSP can do (almost) everything ASP.NET can do but the difference in speed, maintainability, development time and cost is very significant.

My argument is that if you can you should learn ASP.NET (start at www.asp.net and www.gotdotnet.com/quickstart).
If you can't and you want something easy learn ASP.
If you want to learn something you can use on virtually any server then learn PHP.
JSP isn't as common as the other 2 so there isn't as much material online for it (if I'm not mistaken).

Also, while ASP.NET is only supported on MS based servers at the moment there are 2 projects under way that will have it supported by all servers probably within the year (www.go-mono.com and www.dotgnu.com), very possibly even sooner.

Hope that helps.

You made some nice points Vantera,

I myself have actually been reading up about the .NET platform today, whilst downloading the framework. It looks very interesting and I shall be learning it intensively over the next coming weeks.

However, Remember J2EE, JSP doesnt have to be alone. J2EE is just as scalable, maintainable and fast as .NET. Im not trying to start a debate over J2EE/.NET just stating an alternative to .NET

thanx for all the info....

another question....

can anyone recommend good affordable hosting companies??? i kinda dont like the one i'm at....

k

For ASP (soon .net too) I reccomend one and one

For PHP I reccomend Flump Internet

www.noxraq.com // futurepoint communications. cheap and good. i use them for 3 sites.

My hosting company is phurx: URL

Phurix offers an array of services including: Web Hosting, Web Design, Domain Name Registration, Web Design, Email Addresses, 0845 Dialup, Shells, Game Servers, Software Development and much more with additional facilities under development and soon to come.

We are reliable and affordable with prices starting from just £1/month. For more information, click here: URL

Sorry we do not support ASP as we are Unix/Linux based, but we do support PHP. Enjoy.

Money and time are the two issues I see. PHP has a ton of free webcontainers to serve it, ASP has a few also but Windows 2K and XP Pro comes with both a server and container for ASP. If you have either of these OS' then its probably more convenient to just start a dev server on your own machine then export your ASP code to your host when its working.

You can do the same thing with PHP, you just have to set it all up. Also PHP has containers fro many different platforms and webservers in the case that you don't have either of the affor mentioned windows OS'.

Another thing to think about is this: PHP is a newer technology then ASP. Microsoft has already moved on to ASPX and .NET and C# for their next generation. That doesn't mean that you should rule out ASP, but if your Hip Hop page takes off and ends up being highly used and in operation for the next 5 years, you may find that ASP support will run out on you as everyone moves to the latest and greatest. Over a long enough peroid of time the same can be said for any technology though. On the other hand, ASP being older probably means that there is more help available for it on the net.

So in summary:

ASP: Built in server/container on some windows OS'
Older

PHP: Requires your own set up of a server/container to run
Newer

I think both of them have easy syntax and a fairly large array of built in objects and utilities so I would say that is a wash.

Not that there is a correct answer to why this is better than that. There are different ways to do it, so it is more of a what fits better question.
Personally I found out a long time ago that it's generally easier to just grab a free CMS (Context Management System) or any other software for that matter and just hack it to fit my needs. It is much faster to do it that way, and if you are a beginner it generally saves you from a lot of common mistakes such as database normalization faults, lost update issues or the dining philosophers issue (if you're threading).

I just thought I should mention perl/mod_perl since noone else has.
IMHO I find that no language is "easier" then another, asp (basic like) syntax might be easier to learn, but being basic often don't provide you with the level of control that other languages provide you with at your fingertips. I can write a 4 line perl cgi script that does the same function as a 50+ line php script and they have CPAN (ww.cpan.org) which means that most functions are allready done for you, not matter how obscure they might be. You could say it is a lot easier to write and maintain 4 lines of code, but most people find perl cryptic.

To sum up: The solution for you is what fits better, wether that be php + postgreSQL, asp + oracle or simply managing it all in a out of the box CMS or even a Wiki.