Reading Programming

I've used Perl, Java (Servlets & JSP), and PHP for web development in the past. PHP is my current language of choice for performance & ease of development.

I've heard a lot about ruby on rails, and I watched a 15 minute video from their site where some guy made a half-ass blog page. I was somewhat impressed. I know a few of you here are ruby fans. But I don't like the idea of a lot of the code being out of my hands. What's the scoop on ruby on rails? What's the learning curve like? Is it a pain in the ass to setup (will it take me more than two minutes)?

Is Ruby sans-rails worth considering?

What do you Perl gurus think of PerlHP? It looks like it would be handy for presentation stuff. Or is it just a joke?

Can Perl really compete with Java or PHP in terms of performance? What about with FastCGI? Would I be better off with mod_perl?

Which language works best with MySQL?

This post was edited by mace on Oct 19, 2005.

I find it hard to believe that noone here has any opinions on this... I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, I'm just genuinely interested in what some of you might have to day.

Hey, I'm losing my stars. :(

Being that I am not a programmer in that I don't use it except for things that I need it specifically for such as JS DHTML and that sort of thing, my idea of what is the best may differ from that of a pure programmer. That said, I think that Java is by far the best language for web programming for one simple reason: I can use the same exact software, controls, etc on my Mac that I use on my PC.

I am a firm believer in the unification of code that is free to use but also very extensible. It makes it possible to do so many things that all of us can use together. I hate it when I am barred from a site that uses PHP, for instance, in some strange configuration that is not supported by my non-M$ browsers or worse, on my Mac IE. One particularly bad thing is the IE only transitions and colored scroll bars and all that.

Speaking of which, if you have need of interface elements for any of your projects, let me know as I am looking for a way to learn and experiment in that area. Since I can't write the code to test designs of that nature, I want to "volunteer" my skills.

I know I'm dead on the surface But I'm screaming underneath

As for the stars, I get the feeling that people are voting down posts simply because they don't have an intrest in the issue. lol If that were the rules, we'd all be back to 1 red star. :D

I know I'm dead on the surface But I'm screaming underneath

I find it hard to believe that noone here has any opinions on this... I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, I'm just
genuinely interested in what some of you might have to day.

I have an opinion but like you said am not trying to start a debate. I am a Ruby on Rails fan, but I also like PHP, ASP.NET and Java (Servlets/JSP). Keep in mind that I only toy around with them and haven't dug into them very deeply. I played enough to be able to get myself in trouble.

This post was edited by majic on Nov 02, 2005.

I find it hard to believe that noone here has any opinions on this...

Well, probably nobody wants to answer this because they (we) want to keep peace. Everyone thinks that his language is The Best Choice (TM), so it'd end up all in tears if we started a discussion about this.

But for beginners, I'd suggest PHP, Perl or Ruby. Probably C#/.NET too. ;)

Short list of experts on NAO to ask about specific programming languages is following:

- C#/.NET/Mono: get out and ask majic or RCD - although Amit (RCD) is probably a bit busy these days - at least he doesnt show up much anymore
- PHP: me :D
- Perl: Jaz, null and probably some other folks I dont know so much about ;)
- Ruby/Ruby on Rails: let's torture Jaz or majic

cu, w0lf.

ps: note to self: this notebook keyboard's such a pain in the ass - gotta go and buy some proper one (eg. Cherry or Logitech).

Fuck off the 30 seconds posting limit!

This post was edited by ginsterbusch on Nov 02, 2005.

- C#/.NET/Mono: get out and ask majic or RCD - although Amit (RCD) is probably a bit busy these days - at least he doesnt show up much anymore

I have toyed with it for a while, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination. I talk to RCD fairly often. He's around and can be reached by email. He doesn't come here very often at all anymore.

Ruby/Ruby on Rails: let's torture Jaz or majic

I keep up with Ruby on Rails more than I keep up with all the others that I like. I'm not sure if I could answer any technical questions but I do follow it pretty closely. Again I only toy with it and haven't done any production site yet.

I talk to RCD fairly often. He's around and can be reached by email. He doesn't come here very often at all anymore.

Hi everyone,

I do lurk around sometimes - just to read up on some interesting posts from time to time, just don't get the time to login or contribute.

I have beem quite busy ever since I moved to Vancouver, Canada. I have changed 3 companies since moving here. Have also moved up the corporate ladder - something that never happened in my 6 years in the US. Canada seems to value talent more than US, and hence I am quite happy (and busy) with work, and life in general. The kind of tensions I had in US are all gone. The kids are growing up, so they take up some of the free time that I get.

I might get some time in the next couple of months though because my wife and the kids have gone to India for a couple of months, and I don't like the silence in the house that much.

As far as Web Development goes, I am totally immersed in ASP.NET/C#, and have been doing so for the last 5 years now, so I might be biased towards it. I know one thing - the best language is something that you are comfortable in. If it's easy to grasp, than you would love it. If you are not comfortable learning it or have apprehensions you will not like it. Also, which tools you choose are totally dependent on the problem you are supposed to solve, so all comparisons are relative to the situation.

On a side-note, if you guys know of any company that does ASP.NET work and is willing to do some off-shore development, drop me a mail. I have to decide pretty quickly on some destination - either in Europe, China or India - to setup an off-shore development team of around 10 people - 2 QA, 1 DBA, and the rest a mixture of senior, and junior ASP.NET folks.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye opener.

Well, probably nobody wants to answer this because they (we) want to keep peace. Everyone thinks that his language is The Best Choice (TM), so it'd end up all in tears if we started a discussion about this.

Heh, that's exactly the reason why I kept my mouth shut. :-) After all, I don't think there's one single best language for everything. Every language/framework has is strengths and weaknesses, and then there are of course your personal preferences. I for one am happy with PHP and would like to take a look at Ruby on Rails if only I could find the time...

"God is dead." - Nietzsche, 1882 "Nietzsche is dead." - God, 1900

I know a few of you here are ruby fans. But I don't like the idea of a lot of the code being out of my hands.

The only code that Rails takes out of your hands is annoying stuff like O/R mapping, testing and CRUD operations, and 98% of it is done so neatly that you never ever dream of doing it differently. I actually found the neatness of Rails to be an inspiration for my non-Rails projects as well.

Is Ruby sans-rails worth considering?

Very, but not for web development.

Which language works best with MySQL?

Any language will do.

Can Perl really compete with Java or PHP in terms of performance? What about with FastCGI? Would I be better off with mod_perl?

Performance shouldn't matter unless you're planning to do some truly crazy shit. We've used FastCGI with great success for a Rails site, which ended up having near-static response times. And this with Ruby, which is by far the slowest language in the pack.

'Yeah, That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would bomb Afghanistan. Yeah.' - snowlion