tabula rasa

what should I learn first?

[libu68]

Hello,

I'm very new to the whole programming deal, but have about 3 years of experience with HTML and FrontPage.

I would like to get into creating databases, but don't know where I should start. ASP, perl, java, pig-latin? ;)

Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

[circuitjump]

Maybe you can start with ASP. Thats what I started with but soon I moved on to PHP. Really they are all a little hard at first, but with a little time you'll get the hang of things. Once you know a lot of one language you'll pick up on others quite easy.

But never give up and ask as much as you want. It all helps.

:)

[sugarkane]

Hi libu68, welcome to wmw

Well, I'm sure you'll get a range of opinions on this, everyone's got their favourites :)

My suggestion is that you take a look at PHP - you can get started with it pretty quickly, the code is embedded into your html so it's not too much of a culture shock (same with ASP), and its database support is very comprehensive.

In all honesty though, picking Perl or ASP as a starting point is equally valid, and once you've got a handle on one language it's not all that difficult to branch out into another - it's the 'mindset' that really counts, not the language. Pick one, get stuck in, and see if it suits you ;)

Hope this helps you a bit...

[libu68]

Are there any server type restrictions for any of the languages? I don't want to learn PHP, then find out I can't use it on an NT. I'm basically looking for the best language to use across multiple platforms...something I won't "grow out of" quickly.

[ggrot]

Yes there are. PHP requires PHP to be installed on the server. Generally speaking, this is very likely under Apache, but not likely under IIS. However, its free to use, so if you are set up to install it on NT, you're good to go.

Perl works practically anywhere as it can be compiled if the need exists. It's also probably the most difficult to learn from scratch and doesn't have as simple support for databases.

ASP works on NT of course, but is extremely rarely found on unix/apache. There is a interpreter that can be bought for unix/apache made by chilisoft I believe that allows you to use ASP, but the last time I checked that costs around $600/license (I may be off on that one).

I've also seen some programs that will automagically port ASP to PHP or the reverse, but I would be hesitant to assume that they would work in all situations.

[sugarkane]

> something I won't "grow out of" quickly.

Perl :)

It's not limited to just web applications - there's almost endless scope. As ggrot said it can be tricky to learn from scratch, but I guarantee you won't ever be short of new ways to use it!

[libu68]

Wow, you guys are helping me more than you know. Since I will be using this primarily on NT, I'll first tackle ASP, then when my brain stops hurting, I'll move on to Perl.

Thank you all for your assistance, and I'm sure you'll be seeing my confused pleas for further help in the near future. :)

Ciao