PHP or Perl

I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
build a project in PHP or Perl.
I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
Any advance would be helpful,
Jon Jones

re: PHP or Perl

Jon jones wrote:[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
> Any advance would be helpful,
> Jon Jones[/color]

PHP is simpler to use than perl and yet still has a lot of power, and
you have to keep in mind that PHP was designed specifically to be a web
scripting language, perl was not.

~Cameron

re: PHP or Perl

Jon jones wrote:[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.[/color]

It depends on the project........

If it's a web application then I would lean towards php. It was designed
specifically for web apps. There's a slight parallel to VB in that you
can design your webpages using an HTML editor then insert php to add
functionality.

If it's a system application then I would lean towards perl. It is far
more powerful and has more system access, somewhat akin to C++. You have
to generate HTML programatically or look into some sort of templating
engine.

Your inexperience would also make me lean towards php. My personal
experience is that it's far easier to learn than perl.

re: PHP or Perl

Jon jones wrote:
[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
> Any advance would be helpful,
> Jon Jones[/color]

It entierly depends on what your project is.

No matter what the advantages of PHP and Perl are if it turns out that
you are looking to create a realtime spectrum analyser that will fit on
a credit card then I wouldn't recommend either.

If you want to run a web site then take your pick.

If you want to do gene sequencing then the pre-existing code makes Perl
a safe bet.

Besides no one said you can't use both.

re: PHP or Perl

Jon jones wrote:[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
> Any advance would be helpful,[/color]


I agree with what others have said. It all depends on you, your
projects, its needs, etc. However, some advantages of PHP:
1. Web-oriented; less modules to include and easier HTML generation, db
access, etc; you don't have to manually generate headers.
2. More built-in modules.
3. Easier to learn; easier to read; easier to write; easier to debug.
4. Has classes and other semantic traditions; you don't need to learn
new ways to do old things (except for perhaps . for concatenation, ->
for object access, $ for variable access, and little things like that).
5. It's been reported that PHP's faster than Perl.

Maybe some things for Perl:
1. If you can master it, you can make cryptic, compact code.
2. In programs, you don't have to include <?php and ?> in every file.

re: PHP or Perl

On 2004-02-04, Keith Bowes <do.not@spam.me> wrote:[color=blue]
> Jon jones wrote:[color=green]
>> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
>> build a project in PHP or Perl.
>> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
>> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
>> Any advance would be helpful,[/color]
>
>
> I agree with what others have said. It all depends on you, your
> projects, its needs, etc. However, some advantages of PHP:
> 1. Web-oriented; less modules to include and easier HTML generation, db
> access, etc; you don't have to manually generate headers.
> 2. More built-in modules.[/color]

I suggest you have a look around at cpan.

[color=blue]
> 3. Easier to learn; easier to read; easier to write; easier to debug.[/color]

I think they have the same learning curve. They both have error handling
etc, but i've never found PHP's version of use strict;

[color=blue]
> 4. Has classes and other semantic traditions; you don't need to learn
> new ways to do old things (except for perhaps . for concatenation, ->
> for object access, $ for variable access, and little things like that).[/color]

And what exactly would be different from Perl?

[color=blue]
> 5. It's been reported that PHP's faster than Perl.[/color]

I'm not sure on this. I should compare them, both being used through CGI
and both being uses as a module (mod_cgi).

[color=blue]
> Maybe some things for Perl:
> 1. If you can master it, you can make cryptic, compact code.[/color]

Writing cryptic code can be done in every language.



--
http://home.mysth.be/~timvw

re: PHP or Perl

In message-id <bvrbn4$v7eq1$3@ID-188825.news.uni-berlin.de>,
Tim Van Wassenhove wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>> 5. It's been reported that PHP's faster than Perl.[/color]
>
>I'm not sure on this. I should compare them, both being used through CGI
>and both being uses as a module (mod_cgi).[/color]

however, mod_perl is considerably faster than any flavour of PHP that
i've seen, especially when _not_ running with StatINC, as the code
(including all moduled used) is compiled at server start-up and then
run from memory.

re: PHP or Perl

Jon,

Perhaps you could share more information on the nature of your project?
The more details we know the better we can provide specific suggestions
and advice.

Regards,

Lukas

re: PHP or Perl

jonniejones@hotmail.com (Jon jones) wrote in message news:<7bf0940d.0402040736.62d48122@posting.google. com>...[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.[/color]

Why bother learning both?? In PHP groups, PHP is good; in Perl
group, Perl is good..... If you really don't want to learn both, you
may Google PHP vs Perl and get lot of stuffs.

--
"Success = 10% sweat + 90% tears"
Email: rrjanbiah-at-Y!com

re: PHP or Perl

jonniejones@hotmail.com (Jon jones) wrote in
news:7bf0940d.0402040736.62d48122@posting.google.c om:
[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.[/color]

As others have stated, it really depends on the nature of the project.
However, assuming that the project falls into the category of projects in
which both PHP and Perl are reasonable choices, the decision most likely
will come down to not-entirely-technical factors like:

1) The relatively availability of people who work in the project's field
and are familiar with either language. Even if it's a one-person project,
it will need to be maintained and unless you're immortal, can guarantee
that you're never going to move or switch fields, etc., you need to
consider the ability of others to pick it up.

2) The availability of already written-and-tested (the "-and-tested" part
is the most important) libraries/modules to accomplish some of the tasks
required for the project. You also need to consider how much of such code
comes with a default installation of the language and how much has to be
gathered from other sources; this is especially important if your code has
to be installed at multiple locations.

3) If this is a Web application, the availability of hosting within your
desired price/quality range that *properly* supports the language.

These factors will vary according to the nature of the project, your
geographical location, and other such influences.

re: PHP or Perl

Doesn't sound like you have a lot of experience with regular expressions. I
would recommend PHP in this case. Perl is not worthwhile without a mastery
of regular expression.

Uzytkownik "Jon jones" <jonniejones@hotmail.com> napisal w wiadomosci
news:7bf0940d.0402040736.62d48122@posting.google.c om...[color=blue]
> I am wondering as broad as it is which language would be better to
> build a project in PHP or Perl.
> I don't have any experience of either, just some VB,Fox,C++ and
> Java.So really I am asking for the pro and cons before I start.
> Any advance would be helpful,
> Jon Jones[/color]