Which server-side scripts you prefer to use? [Archive]

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adposter

12-05-2003, 04:49 PM

I just wonder, among the members of the entire WebProWorld community. Which Server-side scripts do you prefer using for your website?

PHP, ASP, Perl, ColdFusion, Java Server Pages, others?

Just curious....

Jon

cyanide

12-05-2003, 05:20 PM

php / MySQL all the way

Narasinha

12-05-2003, 06:04 PM

I've always used Perl for server-side programming. The text-procesing capabilities of Perl are very strong. The ODBC module for Perl allows connectivity with a wide variety of database sources. The language itself has grown to a more object-oriented approach, becoming quite a bit like C.

I have taken a brief look at PHP and it seems very good, particularly interfacing with mySQL. In fact, PHP source code looks very much like Perl.

adposter

12-05-2003, 07:13 PM

I too am a C person, though not much very particular about OOP. The sites in PHP I developed were more procedural rather than Object-Oriented approach. The thing I like about PHP though is its C like syntax support which has always been the language i've gone accustomed to. With the ASP, it's more like visual basic syntax. For me, PHP like C has the flexibility of programming giving me the control to tap the nibbles and bytes. It's more like in the olden days when C was used instead of 80x86 assembly to tap system resources. I have not really gotten to learn more about Perl, but with the similarities in C it would be very easy to learn.

Jon

labrynth_of_fire

12-05-2003, 08:23 PM

AlexBel

12-07-2003, 05:38 PM

Hi Jon.
I use Perl and MySQL (plus SSI) on Linux and Windows servers with Apache.
I make the appendices on the perl for dynamic sites.
I didn't see the flexible appendix for all cases which are necessary in work.

davebarnes

12-08-2003, 12:43 PM

HTML/OS from www.aestiva.com

Not cheap at $1500, but very powerful. Easy to learn and much cleaner than PHP.

Aestiva plans to introduce a (slightly) less functional version of HTML/OS called H2O with a cost of $zero. See http://h2o.aestiva.com

It looks very attractive to me.

mysticlighthouse

12-08-2003, 02:26 PM

I primarily use ColdFusion just because it is what all of my jobs have mostly used... although I love jsp and think that it is probably the best choice for backend work going forward.

adposter

12-08-2003, 04:27 PM

adposter

12-08-2003, 04:34 PM

I primarily use ColdFusion just because it is what all of my jobs have mostly used... although I love jsp and think that it is probably the best choice for backend work going forward.

Hi mysticlighthouse,

Most commercial and large companies use JSP I think, for instance, the major banks here in Canada use JSP as their server-side scripting language. And I think JSP is chosen cause of security. But PHP is I think rising up as the choice of most people, because of ease of use and best of all it's FREE! But I know there are still security flaws in PHP that people still find. But nevertheless, it's still my choice over ASP. I don't know much about ColdFusion so maybe you can tell me more about it and in comparison with other server-side scripts.

Jon

mysticlighthouse

12-08-2003, 06:32 PM

adposter

12-08-2003, 06:48 PM

adposter,

Actually there is a sprinkling of all languages within companies. I've been at Spring, Honeywell, Bayer and Bank of America and all of them use ColdFusion while other groups use ASP and still others use JSP. The problem with large businesses is a lack of conformity.

Security is actually not a reason for JSP over other languages. Wachovia and Bank of America both use ColdFusion instead of JSP for many applications. Security certs are the main thing.

Ahh, I see...and it's always a tough competition when it comes to server-side scripting. .NET for instance from microsoft is also gaining popularity, in fact I should have added that on the poll. This C# thing just brings in more confusion more things and more things to learn as technology advances at the speed of light. Just reminds me of the old times when you can write 80x86 assembly languages that taps PC resources you'd be commended as a guru! Nowadays its all a mixture of everything.

Jon

paulhiles

12-08-2003, 07:17 PM

...it's always a tough competition when it comes to server-side scripting. .NET for instance from microsoft is also gaining popularity, in fact I should have added that on the poll. This C# thing just brings in more confusion more things and more things to learn as technology advances at the speed of light. Just reminds me of the old times when you can write 80x86 assembly languages that taps PC resources you'd be commended as a guru! Nowadays its all a mixture of everything.

Jon
Good call Jon,

I've been using ASP for the last 3-4 years, but was introduced to it by default (my job at the time demanded that I learn it!). However, it has certainly proved to be worthwhile in the long run. I've successfully created content management systems, commercial sites, intranets, etc.. all from my initial background.

My current project utilises XML files that are parsed using a MS component, and created as ASP pages. XSLT and CSS are both used to take care of structuring and formatting the pages. The site uses advanced JavaScript in its CMS menu system. Database modification is a snip behind the scenes. Additional ASP objects are used to make the site's code even more extensible and extremely modular. Personally, I find that there are still many tunes that can be played on an old fiddle! ;-)

Paul

adposter

12-10-2003, 01:27 PM

Looks like there's no taker for the JSP...hmmm...interesting...

redcircle

12-10-2003, 02:16 PM

Im starting to use php, but I am still trying to learn it..its a lot easier than to learn then JavaScript and easier to use than java ive tried those before and didnt like them >_< .
(P.S. know any good tutorials or books for PHP?)

I wouldn't consider it easier than Javascript but one of the main reasons it may seem easier is because it's not dependent on the stupid browser.

www.devshed.com
www.phpbuilder.com

great resources for PHP.

Narasinha

12-11-2003, 03:06 AM

Anyone else here ever use the old .IDC (Internet Database Connector) and .HTX (HTML Template) files to do dynamic content on Microsoft's IIS? The IDC file contained an SQL query to connect to any ODBC database, and the HTX file was an HTML template with specific sequences like this <%results%> (sort of like SSI) to format the result of the query. That was popular before Microsoft really got Active Server Pages rolling.

USALUG

12-11-2003, 05:17 PM

I wrote a short article for my web visitors...... I'll repost it here.... hopefully it isn't too long ;)

Linux/Apache/MySql/PHP (LAMP) for me :)

---------------------------

PHP and today's generation of web technologies.

What's next in the field of web design? It's already here. Today's webmasters are deluged with available technologies to incorporate into their designs. The ability to learn everything is fast becoming an impossiblity. So your choice in design technologies becomes increasingly important if you don't want to be the last man standing and left behind when everyone else has moved on. But before we get to that, lets do a quick review of the previous generation of web design.

The first generation of design would have to be called the STATIC generation. In the static generation of web design, pages were mostly html pages that relied soley on static text and images to relay they information over the internet. The first generation of web pages lacked x and y coordinate positioning, and relied on hand coded tables for somewhat accurate placement of images and text. Simple, and straight to the point, webdesign was more like writing a book and publishing it online. Although there are still a few static sites out there, the more proffesional sites have of course kept up with technology, which brings us to this generation of webdesign.

The second generation of web design (the one we are in now), would be considered the ACTIVE generation. For quite awhile now the internet has been drifting towards interactive web designs which allow users a more personal and dynamic experience when visiting websites. No longer is a great website simply a bunch of static text and images. A great website is now one which allows, indeed, encourages user interaction. From simple guestbooks to advanced user forums and image galleries, user s are expecting to have more interactions when visiting websites. The jobs of the webmasters everywhere have just gotten more difficult. No longer does knowing HTML inside out make you a webmaster, although that does help a great deal!! Now, knowing how to use interactive technologies isn't just helpful, it's almost a requirement. Here are a few of the interactive technologies available for the webmasters of today.

Technologies on the client side :

1.Active X Controls.
Developed by Microsoft these are only fully functional on the Internet Explorer web browser . This eliminates them from being cross platform, and thus eliminates them from being a webmasters number one technology choice for the future. Disabling Active X Controls on the IE web browser is something many people do for security, as the platform has been used by many for unethical and harmful things.

2.Java Applets
Java Applets are programs that are written in the Java Language. They are self contained and are supported on cross platform web browsers. While not all browsers work with Java Applets, many do. These can be included in web pages in almost the same way images can.

3.Dhtml and Client-Side Scripting
This catagorey covers an array of useful languages. DHTML, javascript, and vbscript. They all have in common the fact that all the code is transmitted with the original webpage and the web browser translates the code and creates pages that are much more dynamic than static html pages. Vbscript is only supported by Internet Explorer. That again makes for a bad choice for the web designer wanting to create cross platform web pages. With Linux and other operating systems gaining in popularity, it makes little sense to lock yourself into one platform.

Of all the client side options available javascript has proved to be the most popular and most widely used. So once your an expert with HTML, I recommend javascript for your next learning experience. Unless of course you prefer to just jump to the next level and skip the client side options altogether. That wouldn't neccesarily be an entirely bad idea in my opinion either.

Technologies on the server side:

1.CGI
This stands for Common Gateway Interface. It wasn't all that long ago that the only dynamic solution for webmasters was CGI. Almost every webserver in use today supports CGI in one form or another. The most widely used CGI language is Perl. Python, C, and C++ can also be used as CGI programming languages, but are not nearly as popular as Perl. The biggest disadvantage to CGI for the server side is in it's lack of scalability. Although mod_perl for Apache and Fast CGI attempt to help improve performance in this department, CGI is probably not the future of web design because of this very problem.

2.ASP
Another of Microsoft's attempt's to "improve" things. ASP is a proprietary scripting language. Performance is best on Microsoft's own servers of course, and the lack of widespread COM support has reduced the number of webmasters willing to bet the farm on another one of Microsoft's silver bullets.

3.JavaServer Pages and Java Servlets
Server side javascript is Netscapes answer to Microsoft's ASP technology. Since this technology is supported almost exclusively on the Netscape Enterprise Sever, the likelyhood that this will ever become a serious contender in the battle for the webmaster's attention is highly unlikely.

4.PHP
Perhaps the biggest diamond in the rough is PHP. Developed in 1994, PHP works very similar to the way that ASP works. However, quite unlike ASP, PHP is totally platform independent and there are versions for most operating systems and servers. The most helpful feature in gaining widespread acceptance is the fact that it's free and Open Source. PHP is definitely my choice for the future of web design for the forseeable future.

The benefits of using PHP server side proccessing include the following.

1.Reduces network traffic.
2.Avoids cross platform issues with operating systems and web browsers.
3.Can sent data to the client that isn't on the client computer.
4.Quicker loading time. After the server interprets all the php code, the resulting page is transmitted as HTML.
5.Security is increased, since things can be coded into PHP that will never be viewed from the browser.

While Flash, Active X, and other proprietary elements will continue to creep in and entice webmasters, in the end, compatibility issues and price of development will dictate what eventually win out in the next generation of web design. However, for the forseeable future PHP, HTML, and databases are going to be in the future of interactive web design, and that's where I'm placing my bets. Open Source continues to play an important role in driving web technologies. Even though Microsoft would like to be the only player on the field, Open Source, with it's flexibility will almost certainly be the winner in the end. Betting the farm on LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP) seems much wiser to me than the alternative (Microsoft, IIS, Asp) ... not to mention it's a much less expensive route to follow.

Original Article Posted: http://www.usalug.org/

Useful References
http://www.usalug.org
http://www.php.net
http://www.php.net/tut.php
http://www.php.net/docs.php
http://www.zend.com
http://www.apache.org
http://www.linux.org
http://mysql.com
http://www.hotscripts.com

RichardHoehn

12-19-2003, 12:59 PM

I work with ASP and ASP.NET,
I think in the future ASP.NET will become very powerful since I think the wesites will be more and more integrated into the office tools of MS. I have developed and launched not long ago a quoting system for my company, they are using it more and more, and asking that I build outputs of Word documents, etc.
With this in mind I'm tending to stay with ASP and ASP.NET since JSP is similar to C# I have also decided not to go into too much depth in JSP and look more at the C# stuff.