Posted by Toby Inkster on 01/25/06 10:47

John Salerno wrote:

> Is JS still the main scripting language used in web pages, or are
> others preferred? I know PHP and/or ASP.NET is popular, but do they do
> the same things?

That's like asking, "which are better: Apples or Potatoes?" Potatoes are a
terrible choice for picking up out of a fruit bowl and munching on; but
apples are an equally bad choice for roasting and serving covered with
gravy.

Javascript is (primarily) a client-side language (though there are
server-side Javascript technologies available). It is useful for
dynamically changing parts of a web page: hiding and showing stuff
depending on user actions, changing colours of things and so on. However,
users have the ability to disable Javascript, so you can't rely on it.

Server-side technologies like PHP or ASP.NET run on your server. They are
good for accessing, manipulating and formatting data on the server to be
sent to the browser, for important calculations (calculating the total
cost of a shopping cart) and so on. They run on the server, so can't be
disabled by the client.

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me ~ http://tobyinkster.co.uk/contact

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