PHP or ASP.NET
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 07:56 AM Having found out that Linux hosting is ordered for PHP sites and Windows for ASP.NET ones I would like to ask the following questions on these two technologies. I have some practical experience of work with PHP and have never been connected with ASP.NET technologies. I just would like to ask you what is the main differences between PHP and ASP.NET? When it is better to use PHP technology and when ASP.NET one for website creation? Thanks in advance!
Posted by stuartornum, 08-27-2008, 10:05 AM It really depends on the job you are trying to complete. .NET is the framework, you will program in either C#, J#, VB. PHP is a programming language, it does have frameworks available like CakePHP. In terms of running PHP it can run on either Windows or Linux, however .NET only really runs on Windows (Mono isnt really production yet, IMO). Like I said before, it depends on the job you have to do. I prefer PHP and it has very good documentation, loads of forums helping you out, and cheaper to run (i.e. host) However, developing in .NET (CAN) be very fast due to the framework. Its swings and roundabouts really. Im sure others will give their opinion.
Posted by priyakochin, 08-27-2008, 10:33 AM ASP.Net is always expansive.But PHP is cheap and you don;t have to pay athing else than webspace.
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 11:02 AM Do you mean ASP.NET services are too expensive?
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 11:23 AM So it is not possible to have C#, J#, VB elements in PHP code, right?
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 11:24 AM Why ASP.Net is too expensive?
Posted by awatson, 08-27-2008, 11:27 AM I assume because you'd at least need a windows server license for the server, dunno if you also have to pay for other stuff to run .NET stuff on it. Whereas apache/php is free...
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 11:51 AM So, what website features can be developed using ASP.NET technologies only and what php one?
Posted by stuartornum, 08-27-2008, 11:54 AM There is nothing that one or the other cannot do. It just depends on the job, and what you are most comfortable using. If I were you, use python (Im newly converted!!)
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-27-2008, 12:20 PM Personally I prefer to use php. That's why I have posted this topic. For me it is very interesting to feel the difference!
Posted by 3DProf4online, 08-28-2008, 05:41 AM Why the price difference between these technologies is so high?
Posted by ferox, 08-28-2008, 08:36 AM ASP.net is more expensive in terms of money and in terms of resource usage on the webserver too. I would prefer PHP all the way for anything.
Posted by Czaries, 08-28-2008, 12:08 PM That's not necessarily true. While ASP.NET hosts do tend to charge more, there are also several low cost hosts to choose from as well. Also, Microsoft provides a free Visual Studio Express Edition that you can develop .NET applications with instead of buying the full Visual Studio suite. Also, .NET applications are compiled in a intermediary language on the server after their first run, so they execute much quicker on subsequent requests, resulting in less resource usage. PHP is an interpreted scripting language, which means it must be compiled and executed on every request (unless you use an opcode cache like APC). PHP and .NET are just two different tools to perform the same job. PHP has a much easier learning curve, more abundance of code and, in my opinion, much better and more accessible documentation than .NET. On the flipside, .NET offers a much more rigid structure of code and provides more code libraries and development tools that come with the framework by default. Like stuartornum has already stated, there is really nothing one of these languages can do that the other cannot. You should base your decision on which one you would rather develop in and use everyday, because in the end, they can both be made to do the same things. I personally choose to use PHP, because I like Linux environments better (I LOVE shell commands), and appreciate the feeling of code freedom and dynamic nature that PHP offers (which can be both a blessing and a curse).
Posted by SolidTools, 08-31-2008, 10:04 PM Both PHP and ASP.NET are great. However, by using ASP.NET one is able to develop any scale of enterprise applications. The flexibility, power and fast development with ASP.NET are just beyond any other platforms. To hire a Windows Server administrator is definitely cheaper than a Linux one, so in that sense ASP.NET can be a cheap yet effective selection for company web solutions. Just my two cents. < > Last edited by sirius; 08-31-2008 at 10:48 PM.
Posted by brad_the_beast99, 09-02-2008, 11:09 AM I guess it depends on the market segment your going after also. Example: my dayjob is Medical IT / HealthCare IT technical support, working for a huge company with many hundred-million dollar hospital contracts - including web based applications etc. Absolutely ALL web based apps, from the smallest doctor clinic to the biggest hospitals are all developed in .NET As much as I love the open source community (linux/php/etc) they ain't anywhere near getting ahold of Healthcare IT!!
Posted by aradapilot, 09-02-2008, 12:09 PM I am a developer for a major company who deals with both ASP.NET and PHP every day (and therefore to me cost is not an issue). I must say that while both are valid options, I vastly prefer PHP. It has the ability to run on virtually any server environment, has much wider resources for code samples and support, and seems to handle tough database work better. Also, the shell command interface is simple and powerful, I find myself integrating perl scripts with some of my apps and scheduling tasks and whatnot. In the end the choice should be based on what you prefer to use everyday, as others have said, but that's my opinion as someone with experience in both.
Posted by shellcrash, 09-10-2008, 05:07 PM ASP.NET needs Windows Hosting which attracts licensing fees. Go the open source route PHP