Quick Question

[{NcsO}ReichstaG]

Hey

Just a quick question. Say I spend time and thourghly learn PHP 5. However, later I discover I cannot find a host who supports PHP 5, rather only PHP 4. If I know PHP 5, would I be able to program in PHP 4 or would I need to learn PHP 4 seperately. Also, how does ASP compare with PHP 4 or rather 5. Which one is 1) more powerful and versatile 2) which one is easier to learn.


Once again thanks to everyone.

 

[brainchasm]

Hmm, quick answers for a quick question. The depth and veracity of the answers are partly based on their brevity, so feel free to research as appropriate.

If you learn PHP5 and find yourself in a PHP4-only environment, I would say 99% of the stuff you want to do will be possible with little to no problems.

I would say in general, PHP is easier to learn than ASP, because of its reliance on Perl, which makes it a more syntactically sensible language.
ASP will likely be a steeper learning curve, but possibly less to learn, until you get to .NET and so on. ASP is more in demand in the corporate world than PHP at this time, so if you are looking for the "marketable" skill, ASP is where it's at. I am not arguing functionality or leetness or purity, I am simply saying most corporations will use ASP because Microsoft tells them to use it.

As to power/versatility, I think they are more dependent on the coder than the product you are coding on. ASP may seem more powerful at first, but it is from what it comes "ready to do" so to speak. PHP may be more extensible in the long run, but I have yet to see anyone run them out to that point yet.


From that, make your own decisions. Personally, I'd start with Perl and C, and go from there, but I'm something of a purist. If you're doing it for fun, do PHP. If you're doing it for career, do ASP first, then PHP.


BC

 

[lomn75]

As above, PHP5 can be described as PHP4 plus extras. If you're not doing OOP, then PHP5 == PHP4 in nearly all cases. Learn 5 and be aware of what's different (it's listed at php.net).

ASP Classic compares poorly to PHP. Do not bother with Classic if at all possible.

ASP.NET smokes PHP if you don't mind the all-but-necessary reliance on MS. Yes, there are workarounds, but I don't think they're ready for production environments yet. I'd love to be wrong.
1) .NET is compiled rather than interpreted (though I think PHP can do some degree of compilation) -- speed edge.
2) .NET is language-transparent. Write part in Basic, part in C++, part in C#, part in something else -- doesn't matter.