PHP... or ASP??

I am currently developing two sites for clients, one in PHP and the other in ASP...

I find that there are advantages and disadvantages to using both....

PHP is much cheaper to use than ASP (with the hosting in mind) but I find ASP has more functionality....

I am only a mere beginner(ish).... so I'd just like to hear a few peoples opinions on it!!

Matt F
manchester, UK

www.facer-designs.co.uk

I haven't really tried ASP.. but I like PHP's syntax much better (I looove curly braces) I also like the fact that it's open source, and it has a great community..

Can't think of anything else meaningful to say right now

I think that PHP is much easier to get variables from the URL and from a FORM....
with ASP you need to tell the code where to get the variable value from.. ie: $variable = request.querystring("variable") but with PHP all you seem to need to do is simply call $variable..

Unless I am mistaken!!
I have created one complex site using ASP... but I am tending to favour PHP at the moment....I think that both are very well supported on the net.. the amount of help you get find is brilliant!

I tend to use www.asp101.com for my ASP and www.phpbuilder.com (obviously) for PHP!

I have found that this site seems to be the best for articles and the forum though!!

Actually.. after PHP 4.2.1 register_globals is off by default.. this means that you have to use the superglobal arrays introduced a few versions earlier to access the get and post variables..

$_GET['var']
or
$_POST['var']

This might seem like a bad thing, but really, it's a good thing.. (Security, readability)

that is actually quite interesting actually.... I had a problem when I installed my PHP server jobby...that it didnt recognise a variable $id for example... I went in to my php.ini file and changed some setting ... register_globals (maybe?!) to ON....

should I declare the variables at the beginning of each page??

ie:

global $ID

or the like??

If $id was set with either the get or post method you should access it using $_GET['id'] or $_POST['id'], depending on which method is in use of course..

These arrays are superglobals, meaning you don't have to declare them as globals..

http://www.php.net/manual/en/reserved.variables.php

You could also use $_REQUEST, and you can read about it in the link above..

thanks for that! I didnt realise that is how you get the value!
I thought it was somehow assigned automatically!

Thanks!

I have worked in both PHP and ASP, and as you stated, both have advantages and disadvantages. I have developed a complex Content Management System (CMS) for my employer in ASP connecting to a SQL Server database through ADO. I'm using Chili!Soft ASP with Apache on a Solaris 8 box rather than IIS (due to the unbelievable lack of security in IIS). This setup works quite well.

[NOTE]I write my ASP code in JavaScript (JScript) instead of the usual VBScript. I prefer JScript because it functions more like an object oriented language and is much easier to read and write IMHO. JScript has a large number of built-in objects and functions, though VBScript probably has more, as it's Microsoft's own language.[END NOTE]

I've also developed some customized CMS for clients on a freelance basis using PHP. The requirement was to develop the system in PHP because it is free and runs on so many different platforms. I built these CMS to custom requirements in a short timeframe using PHP 4 on a RedHat Linux server. I find PHP to have a multitude of very handy functions for performing trivial and non-trivial tasks (both common and uncommon). If I had to guess, I'd say PHP has far more built-in functions (and configuration options) than ASP. The support community is enormous and you don't need to have a third-party commercial server (such as Chili!Soft ASP) to run PHP on non-Windows platforms.

I'm not sure whether ASP or PHP is faster, but if I've noticed any difference in performance, it's been in the favor of PHP. I'm actually hoping to install PHP at work and begin (slowly) transitioning the system from ASP to PHP. Though the corporate push is for JSP, which is another story altogether.

I originally started off with PHP and im slowly (when i get time, which is limited) learning ASP. VBscript seems more complex to get the same thing done in PHP, it might be this or im creating a excuse because i hate MS.

in my opinion, PHP is easier then ASP and is much faster & efficient. PHP is a good choice if you have past experience with C oriented languages.

I have been using ASP and PHP for 4 years, and I would say that PHP is easier to use, has more functionality, and generally a more approachable userbase. I wrote devArticles.com with PHP, and it was extremely easy compared to other sites that I've done (such as www.techbuy.com.au) with ASP.

I have worked at all levels (from small business to enterprise) with both, and PHP wins hands down because it can be used cross platform, and I can still run my old VB/C++ COM's using its COM() functionality.

All in all, PHP is my preferred language of choice for everything I do these days.

in asp defence (what am i getting myself into) more professional sites use asp, as clients think "wow, its microsoft it must be good", well thats what ive been told by a professional asp developer, but php is deffiently easier to program in.

[note] ive really put my foot in it by sticking up for asp[/note]

[note to self] dont stick up for microsoft u moron[/note to self]

Yes, I suppose due to Microsoft's marketing and market presence, clients favor ASP, though these are typically the folks that have no technical expertise. Unfortunately the enterprise is reluctant to embrace open-source for lots of (silly) reasons. For one, they figure if it's free, it can't be as good as something that is not free. This is ironic since cost is almost always a consideration for enterprise purchases. (Perhaps in the current economy we'll see more enterprises go the open-source route in a move to cut costs.) Plus technical support is always a consideration for enterprise purchases, and while the open-source community has an enormous support base, you usually can't call someone on the phone in a crisis situation and get immediate help. And security is a concern (though Microsoft has proven time and again that its server OS and IIS are less secure than Linux and Apache, respectively).

But the enterprise is slowly coming around. HP is seeking to "drive the benefits of Linux into the heart of the corporate enterprise" (see http://www.compaq.com/products/servers/linux/index.html). Reuters recently announced support for Linux in the financial services industry. IBM is spending $1 million to create a factility for demonstrating Linux to Wall Street (see IBM To Open Manhattan Linux Showroom). The company will set up Linux on their eServer running WebSphere, DB2, Lotus Domino and Tivoli (see Taking Linux To Where the Money Is).

I definitely favor PHP and other open-source technologies (I personally think Apache is the world's best web server). I hope to see more open-source products adopted by the enterprise, as I think it will heap benefits upon both the enterprise and the open-source community.

I've only used PHP, and I will never switch to ASP (unless something drastic happens). It's open-source, it's very easy to learn and use and it has everything you would want from a programming language (for web that is

Kenneth, your summed it up in a box, alas the perfect statement. need we say more?

it is interesting to see everyone's views on this matter... I think I am going to stick to PHP from now on... I thought ASP was quite widely used.... obviously I was wrong!
I have only a "beginners" book of PHP and an advanced book of ASP.. so that's why I thought ASP had more features...



oh well, looks like I'm off to the book shop to get my advanced PHP coding manual!!

Anyone suggest a decent reference book?