Posted by Michael Austin on 02/18/06 18:47

Jacob.Lyles@gmail.com wrote:

> Six months ago I did not know what a server was. Since then I've
> educated myself about the workings of the internet. This has included
> teaching myself basic HTML, CSS, PHP, MYSQL, and Javascript with the
> goal of creating dynamic, user-driven websites using the least amount
> of code as possible. So far I've gotten the basics of DB driven sites
> with user-customization down and I'm actually fairly good at SQL.
>
> Now time is a scarce resource and I don't like to waste it. There are a
> bewildering array of programming languages out there and I'd hate to
> put a lot of effort into learning a language only to find out it
> doesn't do what I need it to do.
>
> I have heard mixed reviews of PHP (the good outweighing the bad) and I
> wonder if it's the best one to invest in learning as a first language.
> May impression so far is that non-scripting languages can do everything
> scripting languages can (through CGI?) but also some other things that
> scripting languages can not do. I suspect that scripting languages may
> be somewhat limited.
>
> On a lot of hacker sites I see the relative merits of languages such as
> Python, Perl, Ruby, and Lisp discussed. However they never discuss
> scripting languages such as PHP, ASP, and Cold Fusion in comparison to
> these. Is this because of some fundamental limitation of scripting
> languages?
>
> Does PHP fit my needs? Is there another language that would allow me to
> program faster? Am I limiting myself by learning PHP?
>
> Your help is appreciated.
>

It has been my experience that if you can program in one scripting language you
can proram in all(most) of them with a very short learning curve. You see: all
languages script or otherwise do the same thing. They just do it differently.
slightly different syntax and maybe some structure (Pascal/COBOL) others are
mostly free-flowing top-down - but can be very modular.

Learned Perl in week or so, learned PHP in a couple of days. Do I write the
most elegant code - probably not, but it does what I need it to do. But I also
do not consider myself a programmer. I am a DBA by trade and System manager
(OpenVMS only) and a pretty good hack on any flavor of **IX.

--
Michael Austin.
DBA Consultant
Donations welcomed. Http://www.firstdbasource.com/donations.html
:)

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