PHP vs. ASP.NET, Im sooo confused

Which way do I go?

[asptony]

Hey Everyone,

I have been pondering for some time now whether or not it is really time for me to start changing from ASP.NET and moving to strictly PHP. The company I work for has a strictly PHP website and I understand both languages pretty well. I am just not sure if I should stick to either language or learn one language more than the other. I basically do coin tosses for new web projects...lol...and I was wondering if I could talk this out in here! Can't wait for responses!

[Easy_Coder]

asptony -

Dontate your coin... and learn both languages (Hint- When your done learn some others).

This question has been asked 100 times or more here. It's the wrong question. The right question is "Whats the best tool for the job at hand?"

Somtimes it will be php; other times you'll find it's asp.net. Guess what, you'll no doubt get something handed to you someday and c++ (or some other language) might be best for that particular job.

Having all of those skills and knowing when to use them goes into the good developer recipe and that's how you bring tremendous value to your career and your employeer.

[httpwebwitch]

well said. I agree with ^

I've spent a few years doing each. I recently moved from an all PHP/Apahe/MySQL shop to a hard-core nothing-but-microsoft ASP.NET employer. C# is the newest language added to my already-crowded resume.

In almost any situation I'd choose PHP. It can do everything ASP can do - for FREE.

Both are robust enough to do just about anything you need... in many ways it's akin to a religious choice.

[Easy_Coder]

Hey httpwebwitch -

The neat thing about getting c# under your belt is your not going to believe the jump start it gives you if you need to spelunk c++ or java.

[httpwebwitch]

true... and thankfully the syntax is familiar to anyone who has used javscript, PHP, and Actionscript in Flash.

a statement like

if(you==smart){languages+="PHP";}

will work in any of the languages mentioned above, with minor modifications.

Compared to VB - ugh, why would anyone still be using VB?

if you=smart then
languages=languages+"PHP"
end if

I find myself still using PHP habits in my C#.NET pages... I haven't progressed to using Visual Studio, I don't compile DLLs, and I don't see the benefit of "codebehind" when I can just put the raw C# into an SSI. I suppose those habits will develop as my skill becomes more sophisticated.

Another reason I really like PHP: Associative Arrays! I love them! And Love is not too strong a word to use in this instance.

$myitem['price']=9.89;

If there is a way to do that in C#, I haven't discovered it yet.

[Easy_Coder]

httpwebwitch, take a look at HybridDictionary, it's in the System.Collection.Specialiazed namespace.

[asptony]

I am glad I got some responses on this, I actually agree with everyone in that I should learn all languages. I think I already knew that, but needed reassurance!.

Thanks Everyone!

[jchance]

$myitem['price']=9.89;

If there is a way to do that in C#, I haven't discovered it yet.

Yep, its called a hashtable

[RossWal]

$myitem['price']=9.89;
If there is a way to do that in C#, I haven't discovered it yet.

Don't know PHP, but isn't this just a shortcut to an object? Don't we want:

myitem.price=9.89
myitem.instock=200
myitem.shippingweight=2lbs
myitem.sold(1)

[Russ49Checkmate]

You know, PHP is really convient for spicing up static HTML pages. My customers want the data first and foremost, and a simple <bg color="#FF0000"> is all the spice they want.