RE: [PHP] PHP Vs ASP

> Coming at this from a different angle, can anyone give me some > good concrete > reasons why we should be changing to PHP from whatever we're developing in > at the moment? Truthfully, I really can't tell the difference in a website based on what it was developed in. Whether it is mod_perl, Java, ASP ColdFusion, or PHP - similar sites in each one will be about the same. I might notice a cool bit of JavaScript at a site, but the server side language really doesn't make a difference to the user: either for speed or functionality. You want to know how to answer your question? Have you developers do the following: Step 1 - Install the software on one of your target servers and configure it. You will find out quickly which ones fit into your environment easily and are stabile. Step 2 - Code a quick demo site in each language that does something all of your sites always do: database query and display results, email, forms processing, etc. Again you will quickly see what solves your problems easily and cleanly and what does not. Given what I said in my first paragraph, it comes down to taste. PHP feels like C to me and I like C. ASP is Basic and it feels weak. Perl is very powerful and I love it, but I'm sorry, it is just plain weird. It's not even really one language and my brain just doesn't think like Larry Wall's. Java is too C++ for me. Though I may use OO in design, I still find OO a knuckleheaded way to code most things. PHP felt good when I learned it and it still feels good. Just compare the language definition section of the PHP manual to Java or Perl. There is a reason there are so many Java and Perl books, those languages are essentially unknowable. PHP is compact like C and solves every new problem I throw at it in an orthogonal way. If you can answer the C vs Basic vs C++ vs Awk+Sed+sh+kitchensink question (which you probably did years ago) then you can answer your current question. PS - don't forget to check out Python and TCL while you're at it.