Is PHP the easier web programming language?

Hi all!

I would to study a web programming language to create a PHP script
(output.php) that, given the following
input page (input.htm) where the user select the weight and volume of a
package to be shipped, returns the prices of various couriers ("yellow",
"blue" and "black").
Really is PHP my best choice? ASP is much more complicated? and what about
Perl?

~~~ input page input.htm:

<form method="GET" action="output.php" name="input">

SELECT THE VOLUME OF YOUR PACKAGE:

<input type="radio" name="volume" value="1"> from 0 to 1 m3
<input type="radio" name="volume" value="2"> from 1 to 2 m3
<input type="radio" name="volume" value="3"> from 2 to 3 m3

<br>SELECT THE WEIGHT OF YOUR PACKAGE:

<input type="radio" name="weight" value="100"> from 0 to 100 Kg
<input type="radio" name="weight" value="200"> from 100 to 200 Kg
<input type="radio" name="weight" value="300"> from 200 to 300 Kg

</form>

~~~ istructions to be integrated in the "output.php" script:

Courier "yellow" - for volume 1, 2 and 3:
if weight=100 then rate=600
if weight=200 then rate=900
if weight=300 then rate=1200

Courier "blue" - for volume 1 and 2:
if weight=100 then rate=400
if weight=200 then rate=700

Courier "black" - for volume 2 and 3:
if weight=100 then rate=800
if weight=200 then rate=1100
if weight=300 then rate=1500


~~~ sample request and result:

Example A) With the user input:
volume=2
weight=300

output.php must generate this result:
courier "yellow" = 1200
courier "black" = 1500


Example B) With the user input:
volume=1
weight=100

output.php must generate this result:
courier "yellow" = 600
courier "blue" = 400

PHP and ASP are really quite similar, beyond the obvious syntactic
differences. I use Codecharge Studio http://www.codecharge.com/?906 and
switch back and forth between ASP and PHP with no trouble at all, despite
having all ASP and no PHP experience. Well, except for remembering to use
the ";" to end my PHP lines ;-)

Personally, I lean towards PHP these days just because there seems to be a
broader community of support for it.

"Jeb Hunter" <jebhunter@mail.com> wrote in message news:<cbmdnX37PZTs-gLcRVn-1Q@comcast.com>...
> Personally, I lean towards PHP these days just because there seems to be a
> broader community of support for it.

I assume you mean a broader free community. There is a huge industry
behind ASP, and millions of people programming with it, but its all
high dollar. I'm impressed with the fact that when I open the
newspaper and look at the want ads there are several requests for ASP
and none for PHP. Yet if you go looking for advice, it is easy to find
tons of free advice and free code for PHP. With ASP, no one gives
advice without charging for it.

lawrence wrote:
> "Jeb Hunter" <jebhunter@mail.com> wrote in message news:<cbmdnX37PZTs-gLcRVn-1Q@comcast.com>...
>
>>Personally, I lean towards PHP these days just because there seems to be a
>>broader community of support for it.
>
>
> I assume you mean a broader free community. There is a huge industry
> behind ASP, and millions of people programming with it, but its all
> high dollar. I'm impressed with the fact that when I open the
> newspaper and look at the want ads there are several requests for ASP
> and none for PHP. Yet if you go looking for advice, it is easy to find
> tons of free advice and free code for PHP. With ASP, no one gives
> advice without charging for it.

As a former ASP coder that made the switch to PHP I'd refute this.
There is a very strong usenet community standing behind ASP and many MVP
stamped ASP related sites and tutorials. The job situation is very real
however -- unfortunatly. I was originally hired as an ASP programmer
and press-ganged my company into making the switch but I often feel like
I am one of the few actually salaried out there.

J

Marta wrote:
> Hi all!
>
> I would to study a web programming language to create a PHP script
> (output.php) that, given the following
> input page (input.htm) where the user select the weight and volume of
> a package to be shipped, returns the prices of various couriers
> ("yellow", "blue" and "black").
> Really is PHP my best choice? ASP is much more complicated? and what
> about Perl?

Is ASP as such still existing? I think if you look forward your decision is
actually between the .NET world and the open source world. If you prefer
working with an editor that does a huge part of the coding for you, and
don't really care about how it works if it works at last, you might prefer
the .NET way (of course you will have to pay for the convenience). If you
prefer having control over your code you will prefer the open source way,
and thus learn PHP.

--
Markus

PHP is a good language if you have time. ASP sucks outright and CFML is your
best source for Robust Rapid Development!

PHP = Available on 99.99% of all servers

ASP = Only on crappy windows mostly

CFML = Available on all OS's if your Service providers offer it, but alot
are getting up to running CFML since its becomming a widely used language!

P.D.

Perl is the lanauge that php started from if im correct !!!

"Markus Ernst" <derernst@NO#SP#AMgmx.ch> wrote in message
news:41a1ac98$0$23630$afc38c87@news.easynet.ch...
> Marta wrote:
>> Hi all!
>>
>> I would to study a web programming language to create a PHP script
>> (output.php) that, given the following
>> input page (input.htm) where the user select the weight and volume of
>> a package to be shipped, returns the prices of various couriers
>> ("yellow", "blue" and "black").
>> Really is PHP my best choice? ASP is much more complicated? and what
>> about Perl?
>
> Is ASP as such still existing? I think if you look forward your decision
> is actually between the .NET world and the open source world. If you
> prefer working with an editor that does a huge part of the coding for you,
> and don't really care about how it works if it works at last, you might
> prefer the .NET way (of course you will have to pay for the convenience).
> If you prefer having control over your code you will prefer the open
> source way, and thus learn PHP.
>
> --
> Markus
>

>Perl is the lanauge that php started from if im correct !!!

Wrong.

Ciao,


Ginzo
---------------------------------
War is god's way of teaching
Americans geography
-- Ambrose Bierce
---------------------------------

>> Perl is the lanauge that php started from if im correct !!!
>>
> Wrong.
>
> Ciao,
>
> Ginzo
> ---------------------------------
> War is god's way of teaching
> Americans geography

Yes! PHP began as PHP/FI in 1995 as a set of Perl scripts.

http://us2.php.net/history


--splatter

Perl is a completely different language. PHP just borrowed some good ideas
from it, hence the similarity.

Perl still has lots of very good uses out there ;)

"Jordon Bedwell" <subluj@talkamerica.net> wrote in message
news:cojj7i$hfg$1@news.chatlink.com...
> PHP is a good language if you have time. ASP sucks outright and CFML is
> your best source for Robust Rapid Development!
>
> PHP = Available on 99.99% of all servers
>
> ASP = Only on crappy windows mostly
>
> CFML = Available on all OS's if your Service providers offer it, but alot
> are getting up to running CFML since its becomming a widely used language!
>
> P.D.
>
> Perl is the lanauge that php started from if im correct !!!
>
> "Markus Ernst" <derernst@NO#SP#AMgmx.ch> wrote in message
> news:41a1ac98$0$23630$afc38c87@news.easynet.ch...
>> Marta wrote:
>>> Hi all!
>>>
>>> I would to study a web programming language to create a PHP script
>>> (output.php) that, given the following
>>> input page (input.htm) where the user select the weight and volume of
>>> a package to be shipped, returns the prices of various couriers
>>> ("yellow", "blue" and "black").
>>> Really is PHP my best choice? ASP is much more complicated? and what
>>> about Perl?
>>
>> Is ASP as such still existing? I think if you look forward your decision
>> is actually between the .NET world and the open source world. If you
>> prefer working with an editor that does a huge part of the coding for
>> you, and don't really care about how it works if it works at last, you
>> might prefer the .NET way (of course you will have to pay for the
>> convenience). If you prefer having control over your code you will prefer
>> the open source way, and thus learn PHP.
>>
>> --
>> Markus
>>
>
>

lkrubner@geocities.com (lawrence) wrote in message news:<da7e68e8.0411201934.73a3d1f8@posting.google. com>...
> "Jeb Hunter" <jebhunter@mail.com> wrote in message news:<cbmdnX37PZTs-gLcRVn-1Q@comcast.com>...
> > Personally, I lean towards PHP these days just because there seems to be a
> > broader community of support for it.
>
> I assume you mean a broader free community. There is a huge industry
> behind ASP, and millions of people programming with it, but its all
> high dollar. I'm impressed with the fact that when I open the
> newspaper and look at the want ads there are several requests for ASP
> and none for PHP.

Ha, I don't find many ads for either language!

> Yet if you go looking for advice, it is easy to find
> tons of free advice and free code for PHP. With ASP, no one gives
> advice without charging for it.

YES! I've noticed that with MS products in general. Even though there
is a much larger installed base of products, it's -much- harder to
get information via newsgroups. I've often wondered if that might
be a money mentality at work, with the MS people thinking that if
they shared their knowledge, they'd be undermining themselves in
consideration of supply and demand. I've overheard this sentiment
expressed seriously, too -- "you don't want to tell people how
you do it"...

You might run into this attitude in the PERL and PHP communities,
but it seems to be much more so in the ASP community.

Which language to study? I prefer using PHP, ASP and PERL in
that order. PERL is way too hard to read, and I've only done
a little work in it. I'd advise getting your feet wet in all
three. That way you get an insight to how web programming in
general works. There are principles that apply to all three
languages.

One advantage to PERL is that it's a "CGI" approach to web
programming, which is worth understanding. With CGI, you
can use -any- language that runs on the server. The -only-
reason PERL has long been considered "the" language for
server-side programming is that a lot of people already
knew PERL when HTTP came along. It was an already existing
language which was well suited to the job.