I'm building a website for my friend's startup.
I'm currently building it on PHP, MySQL, Apache. Everything is going pretty smooth till now, but one of my friend recommends i move to a Java framework because that'd be better when the site becomes bigger.
I don't have any Java Knowledge and I have adequate knowledge of PHP but I'm a fast learner
Should i continue with PHP (can PHP be used for big sites?) or should i move to a Java Framework?
Any suggestions please.
PHP can be used for big sites. Take a look at Facebook. End of story...
When someone says something like that, you need to have them justify what they are saying. PHP is scalable and versatile. Java has it's strengths and weaknesses too, just like any other programming language.
Since you are a novice in PHP, you probably won't reuse much of the code that you are using to build the initial site. I know you plan to, but the likelyhood that you will is very slim. Go with what you know.
PHP has been used by a plethora of sites. Google, Yahoo, Facebook, etc, etc all use some php for all their sites.
I think regardless of whether you go with PHP or a Java solution you're going to have to learn a new set of frameworks/libraries. If you don't have experience building anything more than a toy website (including any you've done through education) there will be plenty to learn from both paths.
Research some frameworks for both PHP and Java and make up your own mind based on what you've read. If it's such a long project you'll have plenty of time to familiarise yourself with whichever option you choose.
Everything for a website is possible with php. No need to worry. we can make heavy sites with php in a easier way then java framework. You can use php frameworks like zend framework, codeigniter. They are scalable and easy to learn have lot of Components (libraries). And provides client services to bigger sites like twitter,amazon,yahoo etc.
:)
At least 1/3 of the top 20 sites on the web are using PHP in one way or another. Languages used by the rest include Python and Ruby. I don't see that any of them are using Java.
PHP is fine to use, ive made websites before using PHP...
Id suggest you stick with PHP but challenge yourself and expand your knowledge.
Yes. Big sites can be build using PHP. Examples are Digg.com and Facebook (which compiles to c++, but indeed).
Related
I'm pretty new to web development, so I had some basic questions to get me pointed in the right direction.
For the last week I've been learning the rails framework, and from what I understand, this framework is great for building a website, but you still need javascript to build nice front-end interface/apps that run in the browser. Is this understanding correct? If not, why does javascript appear to be so essential to almost al websites? In other words, what can you do with js?
Also, I was wondering if it is necessary for me to learn javascript now that there are tools like GWT that compile Java into js. I ask because, I am proficient in Java but have no knowledge when it comes to javascript. How far can GWT take me before I need to learn javascript, or do I have to learn javascript at all?
If someone could point me int he right direction by answering these questions, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks
GWT compiles Java to JavaScript, but you still will need to learn about web development.
I have seen many projects going wrong with GWT because people just started writing Java code and did not care about the underlying platform (the browser) at all.
If you don`t want to care about the browser use some plugin technology (if you are an app inside a controlled environment), otherwise first learn about how to build apps with HTML + JS + CSS.
Eventually you will discover that GWT is a great toolkit for writing fast JavaScript apps in Java, that packs many best practices for building web apps inside the toolkit. It has good abstractions, but every abstractions leaks so you will need to have good knowledge of the browser. You will save on things like keeping away from the bad parts of JavaScript.
I'm working with GWT now, and I haven't had to use Javascript at all yet. I'd say for most websites, GWT should be fine.
What is the process involved with converting a Java web application to something like ASP.NET with Silverlight or alike?
I know many Java frameworks have been proted to .Net (either C# or VB.NET), but haven't really seen many web applications done. (I might be very wrong here)
I also know very little about Java programming but know C#, VB.NET and ASP.NET. I haven;t looked at silverlight yet but know what it can do to some extent. I do know though that Java syntax is very similar to that of C, C# and C++ as they all the the "{}" brackets and layed out similarly.
For arguments sake (just to get a handle and example) what would it take to convert something like Alfresco to a .NET type web app? Also, just want to add that I am not planning on doing it but want to know that if its even worth investing time in looking into Java applications to port to .NET.
Microsoft used to distribute a 'Java Language Conversion Wizard' to convert Java code into C# code, including substituting some of the common framework classes. It needs a lot of cleanup after the fact, but may be useful depending on what sort of code you're trying to convert. If you have access to the VS 2005 tools you should be able to install it.
Other than that, it's heavily dependent on how the code's structured. Finding a web framework that's similar to the Java framework used would probably be helpful. In many cases, I suspect it would be easier just to port the database and master page templates/stylesheets across and build the rest from scratch.
This page on MSDN might be useful: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/gg715299.aspx.
It does a conceptual mapping of concepts in Java to concepts in .NET.
Regarding Giacomo's mention of the Java Language Conversion Assistant (JLCA), it is in fact retired and I wouldn't recommend relying too heavily on it. As he says there's quite a bit of cleanup to do but much of that depends on how you architected your app.
I have just been looking at the GWT and i am impressed by what i have seen but i do not really understand how it is used to when creating web applications.
For example, when im programming in PHP or JSP creating a simple app that lets users register, adds the detailes to a database and then allows them to login is pretty simple but i was wondering how GWT does this?
When doing this in GWT, would GWT widgets be used to construct a frontend(client) that accepts user input and then sends it to a server which is written using pure Java, the Java then does all of the data processing and database interfacing?
If my understanding is correct, is GWT just a way to write javascript frontends in an easier way?
Have you looked into the GWT Overview? I think this line explains it the best:
The GWT SDK contains the Java API
libraries, compiler, and development
server. It lets you to write
client-side applications in Java and
deploy them as JavaScript.
Basically, you write your code in Java, all the while using the GWT to create complex UI's, etc. When you "compile" it, it is highly optimized JavaScript that translates well to multiple browsers, including web platforms.
Whatever language you want to use server-side does not matter - ASP.NET, PHP, etc - it will all work with GWT because GWT is, ultimately, JavaScript.
Basically, Google is trying to make it simple to develop web applications in a familiar language, and doing all the underlying work for you. I'm sure there is someone else who can further expand on the capabilities and advantages of GWT, but I hope this helps!
Exactly. "In the end, it's just JavaScript", you can "Use the backend language of your choice"
I would like to crate a web-solution for price matching, a solution similar to Pricerunner.
My question is what tool would be best to use? I would prefer Flex or Flash Builder with java back-end but is it the best?
It depends on your suite of developers and money available. There is no "best", there are simply solutions that are easier to implement depending on what your develoeprs skills are. If you have developers that are good at Java but don't know PHP...don't use PHP. If your developers are good at PHP and don't know Java...don't use Java.
As for the site, I took a look at the Pricerunner site and it isn't a Flex or Flash based site, it's just a normal script based site, probably PHP (and poorly done on the backend, that source code is hideous). You should probably hire a regular web developer to make the site and add Flash where it will improve the site's capabilities, not develop the entire site in it (unless that's all your developers know).
Hi guys looking for some guidance, i have a knowledge of xhtml, css, javascript, php generated from education. But where do i go from here to reach an industrial standard? for example using those 4 languages, i have used notepad++ to write them. I'm particularly focusing on web development here.
What softwares should gain experience of?
for example where i work i looked at the intranet homepage source and i couldn't read it, i imagine it was autogenerated code, a great deal of it was javascript. I'm particularly focusing on web development here.
Where can i learn about building a website generated from a database? (which i've heard mentioned but dont know how to do) which i belive site like imdb are.
Also i was asked in an interview about Java web development and .NET web development. What does this encompass? .NET is the windows framework from what i've researched.
Any help would be fantastic, i'm just really confused and would love some clarification!
Your best bet from here is to get yourself into a junior role somewhere you can learn a development stack. You've mentioned PHP, Java and .NET in your post - it's time to get a job somewhere you can learn how to do it commercially.
If you don't fancy getting a job (this is the best option as someone can actually show you how to do things) then you'll need people to recommend you a good book that takes you right from the beginning. Any book that combines PHP and MySQL is good starting place if you want to write a website that stores data in a database - with the benefit of being able to play with all of these things for free while you are learning.
Notepad++ is great for developing at home, but if you want to do things really well, you'll need to quality IDE. Jetbrains have PHP Storm, which is a fully featured PHP development studio. Microsoft offer Visual Studio (including a free express edition) for developing .NET and there are also tons of options for developing Java, such as Eclipse.
Lots of people are going to start recommending one technology over another - but ignore any advice that seems to be too extremist as it won't benefit you. I am developing in all three technology stacks and wouldn't recommend one above another - they all have their place. Choose the language that feels right to you and when you've more confident you'll find that switching to other languages is reasonably easy.
What kind of job do you seek? Do you want to be a designer of front ends or a developer that can build layers in the front end, business layer and backend?
You say you know PHP, but dont know how to generate pages from the database. There are many articles on the internet about PHP and using databases (for example the MySQL database). You will have to learn more about scripting/programming in PHP and you need to learn about databases (designing tables, SQL, etc). Learn by reading alot and practising with it (build simple dynamic web-sites). I recommend to buy a good book on these topics.
From there you can learn a lot more about both PHP and databases. For example you can learn about advanced IDE's (editors), version control, performance optimization, advanced web interfaces with AJAX, etc..
Java and .NET are both programming environments. They can be used to built web-applications or desktop user interfaces, but that's only a small part of it. If you want to start with these you will have to learn about topics such as object oriented programming.