Ok, so I'm trying to decided wether to use asp.net or php

[mrfish]

I understand asp.net runs better then php. It's also a lot harder to learn but I don't mind the learning curve. I think asp.net sounds a lot better then php even if it is segregated from apache servers and database structures that php uses and asp.net doesn't. I'm willing to go the extra mile for performance. The deciding factor is a question that the w3schools left me with. After completely learning asp (and realizing I learned the outdated version T.T) I ventured onto asp.net only to read this horrifying news-

ASP.NET is a Microsoft technology. To run ASP.NET you need a computer capable of running Windows.

So what does this mean?

1. Does this mean only computers loaded with the microsoft opperating system can view asp.net files on the web? Meaning 20% of internet users will not be able to view my website?
2. Does this mean only computers with the microsoft OS can host asp.net files. But once uploaded to the internet even mac computers can view the website the way it's meant to be?

Your help is appreciated :D

[garrensilverwing]

considering some really big websites use asp.net i think its referring to the server running windows although you can get mono to run it on a linux server, a list of websites that use asp.net: myspace, dell.com, match.com, monster.com, costco.com, lego.com, but even bigger websites use php: yahoo, wikipedia, facebook, flickr

so they are pretty much the same just personal preference and/or your programming experience seem to be the deciding difference

[garrettroyce]

ASP.NET is a Microsoft technology, but the friendly people working on the Mono project made ASP.NET (2.0 and some 3.5) possible on Apache. However, it is an aftermarket technology so it runs into problems.

I like PHP better. If you're looking at it from a compatibility perspective, consider this: PHP runs the same on every major OS. ASP.NET only runs correctly on Windows, more or less. PHP is more user-friendly, but it doesn't enforce good coding practices (you can evaluate strings as boolean!)

It's just your preference ;)

[Twinkie]

1) Nope

Anyone can view asp.net, php, or any other platform oriented language because what is returned to the client is plain HTML. Asp.net is executed at the server.

2) Nope

Generally yes, but as garrettroyce said there are addons to Apache that can allow asp.net to run on other operating systems. Check out X10's asp.net mono functionality and see for yourself.

PHP is better than asp.net because it runs everywhere and if not for asp.net mono, you would have to pay for a Windows server (IIS) just to use it. Although it is looked down upon that PHP does not enforce good programming practices, that does not demean the PHP language. Most web sites use it, so it can't be that bad!

[batman1]

never used asp before, but php is pretty good.

[geoffish]

I think that asp.net is great and has better coding than php. If you want to create asp.net quickly, than just download this:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/#webInstall
(click on visual web developer download)

however, like everyone else said, good luck getting your asp.net application to run smoothly on anythink but iis.

[garrettroyce]

I think that asp.net is great and has better coding than php. If you want to create asp.net quickly, than just download this:

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/#webInstall
(click on visual web developer download)

however, like everyone else said, good luck getting your asp.net application to run smoothly on anythink but iis.

That's a great point as well. Visual Studio has the IDE software I've ever seen. PHP does not have anything close. Eclipse has some OK plugins, but I've actually just been programming in plain text. So I get a ton of little syntax errors that I have to track down.

[xav0989]

That's a great point as well. Visual Studio has the IDE software I've ever seen. PHP does not have anything close. Eclipse has some OK plugins, but I've actually just been programming in plain text. So I get a ton of little syntax errors that I have to track down.

didn't you forget the "best" part after the "the"?
Anyways, I've started out by learning ASP.net on Visual Studio 2005, then I've switch to PHP after my IIS localhost started to stop working. I switched to apache and php since there was a greater and better support. Also, I didn't the way that asp-rendered page where cloaked with javascript. It was pretty hard to integrate some javascript. However, I miss the speed of ASP.net.
Coming back to Eclipse and Visual Studio, since I believe pretty strongly in Open-Source, it's pretty much what makes me prefer Eclipse. Oh and many there was also the fact that my computer used to be running Vista with 786MB of RAM...

[haggis73]

Hi,

Answering the questions posed (I counted three!) -

1. Does this mean only computers loaded with the microsoft opperating system can view asp.net files on the web?

Similar to Twinke - Nope. Web server will either be a Microsoft OS (or Linux Apache running Mono). The server serves up HTML to your client browser.

2. Meaning 20% of internet users will not be able to view my website?
No, the browser application will read the HTML served up.

3Does this mean only computers with the microsoft OS can host asp.net files. But once uploaded to the internet even mac computers can view the website the way it's meant to be?
No, possible to run the ASP.Net on linux / macs with Mono and Apache.

Costs would be also a good thing to consider and learning curve.
:lockd: