# Which is best to learn? ASP / PHP etc etc



## paulb100 (Mar 17, 2005)

I want to learn web programming primarily for databases and interactive content..

There are so many web-programming languages but I dont know which one is best - I heard ASP.NET is the better one but is it?

When I see Job Openings for web design it seems to be mostly PHP they require (other than Dreamweaver & Flash)....

I have Adobe Masters Collection, Frontpage and Visual Web Developer

Fixing Computers is my forte - I done a website for a friend and now Im doing TWO more so I wouldnt mind bettering my skills cos as of this moment I can only build basic sites with tables etc

thanks


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## LauraMJ (Mar 18, 2004)

Moving this thread to the proper forum, you should get more answers here.


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

paulb100 said:


> When I see Job Openings for web design it seems to be mostly PHP they require (other than Dreamweaver & Flash)....


That's probably because PHP is free, Apache is free, and MySQL is free. So it's more cost effect for companies to use it.


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## TheRobatron (Oct 25, 2007)

IMO the .NET framework is overpriced and it needs a Windows server to run on. Anyone can learn and use PHP and Linux hosting packages are a lot cheaper than Windows for pretty much the same deal, which is why it's more common.

As for the actual language, I don't know much about ASP but I picked up PHP in a couple of weeks (with previous programming experience). There is a massive debate on the matter - just search for "PHP vs ASP". Some claim that because ASP is professionally developed it is better than the open source alternative. This may be true in many cases, but PHP is cheaper and easier (in terms of getting space to run it) to learn. And of course there's the fact that you're supporting an open source project


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

paulb100 said:


> I want to learn web programming primarily for databases and interactive content..
> 
> There are so many web-programming languages but I dont know which one is best - I heard ASP.NET is the better one but is it?
> 
> ...


*ASP* - Don't ever learn this!
*ASP.NET* - If you are looking for enterprise work or want to learn C# and enterprise programming then learn this. In most cases this will pay better then PHP.
*PHP* - If you plan to work on personal projects then learn this. In most cases you can finish projects much faster than other languages. However (in most cases) it is much easier to write ugly PHP compared to other languages.

If you go for PHP then *learn it good*! Learn *proper practices* and OOP when working with large projects. 99% of scripts and PHP code found on the internet contains bad practices!

This article is a *very* good read. Keep it in mind when working on PHP.

http://www.oreillynet.com/ruby/blog/2007/09/7_reasons_i_switched_back_to_p_1.html


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## dudeking (Feb 7, 2007)

I have had 2 clients in the last few months get rid of me half way through projects because they want ASP.net ASP (yeah dnt lean it). But get get big money its ASP.net, PHP is fun and easier, and still creates some amazing stuff


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## paulb100 (Mar 17, 2005)

wow thanks for your replys guys - i now know where i stand... 

I want to learn C# so maybe im best learning BOTH - I have books on VB , C# and JAVAscript which im dying to get stuck into and PDF's + video-tutorials for Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, SEO, CSS, PHP+MySQL - but the problem seems to be I want to learn so much but dont know what to start with? and work & my newly found web-projects seem to take up all my time..

maybe i should start with what I require - my line of work is PC Repair / IT Consultant but Iam getting requests for websites to be built so I think maybe its important that I learn More Dreamweaver, Photoshop / illustrator , CSS, SEO , PHP , ASP.NET , MySQL first then in my spare-time I can study C# (this will help with ASP.NET) , JAVAscript , Flash etc....


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

If you are getting requests for websites than do them in PHP, it won't be worth the effort in ASP.NET.


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## paulb100 (Mar 17, 2005)

yeah so I see.... ive got my tutorials...
thanks


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## MRdNk (Apr 7, 2007)

I say PHP. Its FREE, and so a lot cheaper to make your own projects, the downside is that companies are obsessed with Microsoft and therefore ASP & ASP.NET are good for that type of career. Best would be to convince your client that PHP is better.


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## skyhigh007 (Jun 17, 2004)

whats the best, effective and easy way to learn PHP?


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## dudeking (Feb 7, 2007)

trial and errors how i learnt but took 2/3 years lol


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

php.net is a good place to learn


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## TheRobatron (Oct 25, 2007)

skyhigh007 said:


> whats the best, effective and easy way to learn PHP?


I used a combination of books and internet tutorials. I have PHP and MySQL for dummies, learn PHP in 24 hours and I borrowed a couple of other books from my library. I learnt PHP fairly quickly because I already had quite a good grasp of the principles of programming, but PHP is pretty simple anyway. I'd agree with namenotfound that php.net is an awesome resource for learning the language - I still use it a lot for reference of functions. But everyone learns differently, so you really have to find your own way that suits you. Good luck


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## skyhigh007 (Jun 17, 2004)

I'm afraid of learning sessions, cookies, and scopes!


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

MRdNk said:


> I say PHP. Its FREE, and so a lot cheaper to make your own projects, the downside is that companies are obsessed with Microsoft and therefore *ASP &* ASP.NET are good for that type of career. Best would be to convince your client that PHP is better.


ASP is a dead language.
ASP.NET is what's "hot" right now.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

skyhigh007 said:


> I'm afraid of learning sessions, cookies, and scopes!


Those are pretty easy, and variable scopes are very simple to grasp.

Learning proper OOP, and the more intricate stuff like working with different number bases (hex, binary), etc are much harder. Obviously these skills do not only apply to PHP, they apply to computer programming in general.


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## paulb100 (Mar 17, 2005)

when I was younger I used to program in basic on my ZX Spectrum 48k haha - but that will help me when i come to learn PHP, C# etc wont it? they work on the same principals as OOP

my first ever code:

10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD";
20 GOTO 10 

HAHA - remember those days - i got much better than just that , I could create my own graphics and use if / and / or / ="" and all the rest of it


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## skyhigh007 (Jun 17, 2004)

I learned Java programming language when i was in college. PHP is so messy and confusing!


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