These are some good points. My gut reaction is similar to Robby's, but here are the points he made: > PHP = free > ASP = not > > PHP = most widely used scripting language online > > PHP5 is out > > PHP = tons of open source libraries..free to download ASP comes free with PWS and IIS. So if you're already in a Microsoft environment, then PHP vs ASP as far as cost goes isn't a factor. PHP most widely used scripting language? I did some research on this (because I, myself, had a "convince my Boss" session a little while ago.. Which I'm never going to do, but I wanted to at least arm myself a little bit) and I found some surveys and the general breakdown seemed to be: IIS = 1/3 of the servers online (roughly) Apache = 2/3 of the servers online (roughly) PHP = 45+% of the primary scripting on Apache servers. Assuming ASP is used on 100% of the IIS boxes (or close to it), that puts PHP and ASP almost dead even on usage. I'm sure it sways depending on the survey, winds, alignment of the planets, etc. I don't think we'll ever get a fair, unbiased survey of such things. So that point is semi-debateable. The idea that they're neck and neck is encouraging though. PHP5 vs ASP, ASP.NET, or other current flavors of ASP.. I don't have direct head to head comparisons, but this seems to be a subjective measurement of worth. Tons of open source libraries,etc... There's a lot of sites devoted to posting code snippets and even full applications. Many for ASP as well as PHP. I think PHP's uniformity helps find useful code, whereas when I look for ASP stuff, I get ASP, ASP.NET (VB), ASP.NET (C#) and other mish-mashes of code samples. But there's certainly not a lack of ASP online resources. So back to Martin's post, these are definitely points to consider. Do you have in-house coders who already know something (that's the battle I fight right now. I'm the only PHP guy and we have at least two ASP.NET coders and another couple of VB or other MS based coders that could probably do the ASP.NET if needed.. So I'm outnumbered on that one). Do you have existing code that would have to be ported to PHP or would you have to support two different scripting languages (most companies prefer not to do this if they can help it). Will it be web based or do you desktop applications (where a VB.NET or some kind of Visual Studio compiled and developed application type language would be better than PHP... At least until WinBinder gets fully going hah). Server... Yes.. Do you already have a server? Do you have people that know Apache? Do you already have IIS running? If you're a small shop, these things could change on a whim, if you have a larger user base where even small changes can affect a lot of people, these can be very heavy considerations. I love developing in PHP, but there's no use trying to teach a pig to sing.... If you work for a pig, then you gotta learn to grunt and just use whatever they tell you to use. Don't force a change that's going to create a lot of problems, downtime, etc. "Free" is only free if you either don't have anything already or you have coders and servers that are already in-line with the new plan. If you take a bunch of ASP programmers and force them to learn PHP, then you have a learning curve, code porting and other things that can cost the company money and possibly create downtime or project delays. This makes Apache + PHP changover hardly "free" to the company. -TG > -----Original Message----- > From: Norland, Martin [mailto:Martin.Norland@xxxxxxxxxx] > Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 11:29 AM > To: php-db@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: RE: PHP vs ASP > > > >From: Perry, Matthew (Fire Marshal's Office) > [mailto:Matthew.Perry@xxxxxxxxxxxx] > >I need some ammo to convince my boss not to use ASP but use PHP > instead. > > > >Anyone have some info I can give him? > > If you want us to give you live ammo instead of blanks, we'll > need more > details on your setup. There is a possibility that you should use ASP > instead of PHP, albeit slim. > > Things like: > What languages the coder(s) already know > What code is already in place > What kind of interfacing will you be doing (what data sources, > etc.) if any > What type of server it's running off > Etc. > > You can certainly start off with apache+php is going to be > cheaper than anything else (assuming you or someone else know the > particulars already). It's no longer the case that bosses will > complain that "if you leave no one can maintain it!" - PHP is > definitely here to stay and pretty mainstream. -- PHP Database Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
