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Originally Posted by JayDrake
I'm with ghstdrgns on this one as far as the longevity of both .NET and php. Both have definite advantages and both have their own holds on the market.
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I agree.
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Originally Posted by JayDrake
That said, if I were beginning to learn web design and development right now and was trying to figure out which one to learn in pursuing a career I would choose .NET. I am a php developer and have been working for just over 3 1/2 years for PlanHouse in Jackson, Mississippi. I am happy doing what I do and would, given a choice, continue to work with PHP. Because of romantic involvements, I am currently seeking new employment in the New England area and I have quickly realized that while my preference is for PHP, most of the web development/application/programming jobs that I am able to find are either .NET or Java.
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Keep the faith brother. Don't switch to the dark side. ;o) hahaha
Seriously though, just hang in there. PHP jobs do come along. I think it's a testimony about the PHP development community. As a whole we develop code that has staying power and as developers we tend to stay in a good situation. Right now there is a big push to migrate to .NET from classic ASP. And as ghstdrgns said, the companies that are completely Microsoft-based are updating/creating new functionality to tie-in with what the have and know. A lot of those companies can't afford to switch, or perhaps mroe appropriately, are too scared. They fear that the switch to comething like PHP/Linux will not have the short-term benefits they all want. Whereas the small companies that don't have a lot of money to spend on instituting a Microsoft only business will use the relatively "free" open source solutions like PHP and Linux. I look forward to the future of PHP and hope to have (or work for) a company that has little to no reliance upon Microsoft. Their software (operating systems and office apps) is too buggy and has inherently flawed security, as stated previously.
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Originally Posted by JayDrake
As .NET and Java currently seem to have a good hold on the web development world as far as those who are hiring in the area I want to live, I have started to work on gaining proficiency in both. In my case, I am more strongly pursuing work with Java because I have some interest in eventually working as a programmer, with the option of going back to web development when necessary.
PHP or .NET? .NET is paying right now, but so is Java and my current thoughts are that Java will give you more options than web development.
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This is mostly due to marketing. Who markets PHP to the masses? No one except the evangelists that use it now. I know because I am one. Who markets .NET? A monopolistic mega corporation that has every reason to want their software on every computer in the world. Who markets Java? Well I haven't seen much from Sun lately, but they certainly got the word out a while back and now we have all these web sites run by JSP or the like. ColdFusion, or as I like to affectionately call it, ColdConfusion, is now owned by Macromedia after they purchased it (or maybe it was the whole company) from Allaire. ColdFusion is rarely implemented well. I haven't seen many sites that use it properly (no major errors, impossibly slow load times, poor efficiency, etc.) and those that do are dwindling in numbers it seems. Maybe Macromedia can save this resource, or maybe they will let it die. Somehow I doubt they will let it die.
What I think it comes down to is this: If you are a do-it-yourselfer, go with PHP. The benefits are too numerous to relist here. Everyone else has done a decent job outlining the major reasons to go with PHP.
However, if your company is willing to put you through (pay for) learning .NET, I say go for it. It's a much more close-minded approach to go with anything Microsoft. It's in their corporate philosophy.
I don't really have an opinion on JSP as I don't knwo enough about it.
Stay away from ColdFusion unless you are a masochistic programmer and have some time to kill. I suppose it could be a good thing to know if you ever have to deal with a web site coded with CF.
Good luck and have fun!