PHP info and PHP w/ mySQL

[shikhan]

Hey guys
I'm doing some research into which language it would be best for me and my company to use. We've narrowed the choices down to a php, jsp, and asp and most agree on php. I was hoping to find some 1) non-biased source of php and comparing it to other scripts and 2) personal feelings on php. We are creating an e-bay-esqe site. More like half.com if you know what that is but thats pretty much all I'm allowed to say.

Also, someone mentioned that there may exist a flaw with PHP working with mySQL in that you can't have more than 100 queries at a time. Does anyone know the validity behind this? Any articles? Personal experience?


Thanks alot guys!

 

[kt]

if you're planning on making a lot of SQL queries, you may want to go with MSSQL 7 or 2000. mySQL currently does not support stored procedure which is helpful if you frequently make the same queries over and over again. As far as which language to use, what do you feel comfortable with? I am more comfortable using PHP, but if ASP is going to make my life easier I have no problem switching over when needed. My background is with C/C++, so PHP was easy to pickup.. but ASP isn't that bad either.

 

[shikhan]

We [the team I'm going to be programming with] is compfortable with needing to pick up a new language. Our development time has plenty of time scheduled in it for learning a language. Our primary concern is the stability and speed of the langauge.We're confidient that at least the main programmers will be able to pick up any of these languages.

 

[Shazam]

Don't use mySQL if you're going to anything close to enterprise class. The lack of transactions will hurt you - bad. Yes, I know a future version of mySQL will have transactions, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

As for PHP, it's decent. No built in clustering though = bad for scalability.

JSP: Gotta know Java for that one.

ASP: Going, going, gone. Slow as molasses. If you're going to use ASP, you should go to ASP.net, which means you gotta learn either C# or VB#.

What's wrong with ColdFusion? It's great

 

[RSMemphis]

mySQL is fast, and I am not aware of a 100 queries limit with PHP (i.e. I haven't ever encountered it on my project).
The lack of transaction does hurt, especially for an ebay like site where you'll have to guarantuee that everything went through.
There are modules for mySQL that make it transaction enabled though.

Depending on the required throughput, Postgre may be a possibility, since it fully implements the SQL command set. But it is slower. A commercial database may be necessary if you require certain transactions with high speed.

 

[RSMemphis]

Are you going to use PHP on Windows? I tried that once, had much lower throughput, and happily went back to FreeBSD.

If you run the setup on Windows, go the ASP, .NET route. It will give you less headaches.

 

[shikhan]

We will most likely be using a distrobution of linux [we're talking with some people on our team to just go with the kernal and put in stuff we need]. I have to look into Coldfusion, but no one on the team is familiar with that. I'm personally a java and c++ program [I've done some light jsp work] and most people on the team are familiar with both c++ and java, although to varing extents.

What are the pros and cons of the following: jsp vs php, mySQL vs MSSQL ?

 

[Shazam]

Well then, if you're familiar with Java, I'd use JSP. You can get some great enterprise class J2EE servers, but of course they cost lots of moolah.

I'd rather much use JSP over PHP.

As for databases, I highly suggest you use something like SQL Server or Oracle.

 

[manly]

If developers already have some Java experience, then JSP is the natural choice.

The only word of warning is to develop a proper design. JSP pages are meant to render the output sent to the client. They should ideally contain little or no Java code. Java code belongs in custom tag libraries or controller servlets.

And with Java, you can choose any DBMS you want as long as it has a JDBC driver (most databases do).

Servlets & JSP are standardized so you can also swap your app server with minimal fuss. You can start with something free like Tomcat, and move to something commercially supported if necessary. Your code would not need to be "ported".

If you need a J2EE container, jBoss is open source and free (beer), and very popular.

Microsoft's .Not marketing likes to emphasize how C# is standardized by ECMA, but they won't tell you that much of the system is not standardized. On the other hand, Sun may control the Java brand, but many companies contribute and all the APIs are standardized so that the customer isn't locked into any particular vendor.

If mySQL isn't suitable, PostgreSQL might be. The commercial RDBMS's are a bit overrated. If I was a small organization, I wouldn't immediately think Oracle or SQL Server just because they are popular. Oracle is also horribly expensive; why pay for what you don't need?

 

[Shazam]

<< If mySQL isn't suitable, PostgreSQL might be. The commercial RDBMS's are a bit overrated. If I was a small organization, I wouldn't immediately think Oracle or SQL Server just because they are popular. Oracle is also horribly expensive; why pay for what you don't need? >>

Actually, the last time I looked, Oracle is cheaper than SQL Server. Also, you can download the full version of Oracle and use it for development as long as you want before you actually purchase it. Although, I find SQL Server is easier to program for. PL/SQL is a pain.

 

[manly]

Shazam,

I used Oracle as an example, but production licenses for any of the so-called "enterprise-level" commercial RDBMS's is quite expensive (at least from an individual's standpoint). I've downloaded Oracle from technet and installed it personally for free, as you point out.

However, if a company wants to acquire a deployment license, then they'd have to pony up a non-insignificant sum. I'm not saying don't buy a commercial license; just asking why pay for what you don't need?

 

[Shazam]

Well, if a company wants something that has real transaction support, database replication, and 24-hour support, it's worth getting a commercial product.

 

[shikhan]

Right now, we have a fairly large cost restriction since we are a startup. We need something fairly cheap that will work best for a cheap price. We may need to change solutions later once we have deeper pockets to work with.