which language..?

[RJweb]

Good morning, i am ready to take my web site development skillls to the next
level, i can program in html, css well, but my question is which server side
language should i learn, not having any program training, other than html and
css, which one do you feel would be the best for me to learn at this point,
asp.net, php, or coldfusion? And any references you can list of the language of
your choice to recomend, thx roy

[middletree]

It depends on what you are used to. If you have any prior progamming
experience in VB, then I'd suggest that VB.NET (ASP.NET using VB) would be a
shorter learning curve. But if you are strong with C-based languages, then
ASP/NET with C++, ASP/NET with C#, or PHP would be easiest.

Cold Fusion is easier in general, and if you are doing basic form stuff, it
won't limit you.


Also important to know is what your host supports. Many hosts will allow PHP
but not ASP.NET, because they are on *nix, not Windows. Not every hosts
offers Cold Fusion.

Please note that all of the above have extensive learning curves. Any
tutorial or book that promises to make you proficient in any server-side
technology in a week is picking your pocket. It took me the better part of a
year before I felt comfortable with ASP, and I still am learning. Now I'm
learning ASP.NET, and it's a whole new thing.



"RJweb" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:d075qu$ma8$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Good morning, i am ready to take my web site development skillls to the

next

> level, i can program in html, css well, but my question is which server

side

> language should i learn, not having any program training, other than html

and

> css, which one do you feel would be the best for me to learn at this

point,

> asp.net, php, or coldfusion? And any references you can list of the

language of

> your choice to recomend, thx roy
>

[darrel]

> asp.net, php, or coldfusion? And any references you can list of the
language of

> your choice to recomend, thx roy

Take your pick.

ASP.net - pros: fully object orientated. Fairly robust. cons: MS only ($$$).
Needs VS.net to be truly useful

PHP - pros: very widely used, open source. cons: none, really.

Coldfusion - pros: easy to learn. cons: requirs a CF server ($$$)

I'm learning asp.net, but only that's because what we use here at work. If I
were to start from scratch, I'd probably go with PHP just because it's so
widely used and open source.

-Darrel

[CMBergin]

Contrary to the apparent majority opinion here, I feel PHP is a much weaker
solution that is generally indicated. I don't generally steer people away
from it because it's not like your site will suck if you use it, but I'd
never steer a corporation toward it. It's not the cure-all, flawless
solution that the standard open-source evangelist will claim.
What most people seem to forget is that ASP .NET doesn't cost you any extra
if you have a Windows machine already (and the VAST majority of us do).
Hosting for .NET and hosting for PHP have comparable prices. The WebMatrix
project is a free .NET programming environment if you want it.

If you're asking "best to learn" as in, which will make you more employable
as a web programmer in a corporation, go with .NET.
If you're asking "best to learn" as an independent web developer or
programmer who does freelance or contract work, then it really doesn't
matter.

Also keep in mind that .NET is a development platform for more than just the
Web. It doesn't have to be in a web page, it just can. It may make it
easier for you to cross into application development if you start with .NET
web development.


"RJweb" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:d075qu$ma8$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Good morning, i am ready to take my web site development skillls to the

next

> level, i can program in html, css well, but my question is which server

side

> language should i learn, not having any program training, other than html

and

> css, which one do you feel would be the best for me to learn at this

point,

> asp.net, php, or coldfusion? And any references you can list of the

language of

> your choice to recomend, thx roy
>