Which programming language to use?

Ruining a large-scale CMS...

[hdpt00]

Hey guys, I recently posted about finding the right CMS. However, after trying several systems it seems like the only way to get it right is to do it myself. I am planning on doing PERL or PHP with an SQL back end. What would be great is if I cold get your opinions on what would be the fastest (in terms of speed retrieving templates, etc.) method, PERL or PHP. The site is anticipating a large amount of traffic (aren't we all ;-)).

Thanks for your opinions,
Brandon

[stevenmusumeche]

Pick your poison. Both will most likely do everything that you need. I personally prefer PHP, but that is just my personal preference.

[Llama]

I hear that PHP runs faster than Perl, and is easier to use... makes sense, seeing as PHP was first prototyped using Perl; it was made to be better. Not saying it is better though, not trying for a flame war, they're both great languages, I'm just answering the question.

[mattur]

hdpt00, both PHP and Perl are fast enough. Performance will be determined by the system architecture and design decisions you make.

For max. website performance you could implement a CMS that publishes static HTML pages (or Perl cgi, PHP, etc). These types of CMS do not directly impact on website performance experienced by visitors.

[satinder]

PHP .I would say

[PCInk]

What would be great is if I cold get your opinions on what would be the fastest (in terms of speed retrieving templates, etc.) method, PERL or PHP

Retrieving templates? Speed? I wouldn't have thought that your choice in language between Perl or PHP would make any difference.

The difference is down to the speed of the disk (for retrieving files) and your good programming, or your bad programming.

I would simply go for the one you feel most comfortable with.

[igf1]

I gotta say it :) there are like 10 million CMS scripts out there allready , why reinvent ... spend a little more time looking at smaller ones if the PHPNuke family of scripts dosent appeal. hotscripts.com has dozens of good CMS scripts that you can Modify to suit your needs, spend time making money not code :)

[Sanenet]

If you're using databases - Cold Fusion.
€0.02!

[jatar_k]

either php or perl is just fine

- if you are more comfortable with one or the other then choose that one

- if your host supports only one or the other then choose that one

- if the programmers you work with (if there are any) are more familiar with one or the other then choose that

It really doesn't matter as long as you stay away from .cfm ;)

[Sanenet]

It really doesn't matter as long as you stay away from .cfm

A discouraging word :( 'Fraid I stick by my €0.02.

[jatar_k]

no offence intended Sanenet, I was poking a little fun (hence my wink)

just my personal opinion :)

[karmov]

I'd say it's really a personal preference. People tend to find that php doesn't have as steep a learning curve as Perl. They can both do the same things and performance will entirely depend on your setup.

As previously mentioned though, you might want to look in to something that's already done. Come to think of it... Maybe I should take my own advice one of these days :)

[danieljean]

I've cobbled something together in PHP for now, which has had me tearing my hair out. I can't believe how odd their session handling is.

In the medium-term future, I'll be looking at Lenya, which has good cache support. If you can handle J2EE architecture, XML/XSL and a steep learning curve, I think this one is a winner. All the Apache projects I have ever used are great, and this one relies on others such as Lucene (search engine, which is integrated).

[encyclo]

From the thread title:

Which programming language to use?
Ruining a large-scale CMS...

Another vote for Coldfusion then! ;)

[percentages]

I love Perl, but anyone starting down this road today should be looking at PHP IMHO.

It is easier to learn, quicker to develop, offers more functionality, has better PD resources.

Right now I'm 80% Perl and 20% PHP, but all the new stuff is PHP, so it ain't gonna stay that way for many more years.