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Need a list of benefits of .Net over PHP/ASP and JavaScript

I need some concise, easy to grok examples of what .Net (preferably
C#.Net) has over just using old ASP or PHP with JavaScript.

See, I'm a PHP guy, and while I started server-side scripting with ASP,
I hate it. But last year I had the opportunity to work with a company
that was developing sites in VB.Net. And I was wowed! The stuff they
could do was really nice and impressive, and I got the chance to learn
a little about datagrids. Was impressed.

Now a year later working exclusively on a Linux server, I've found that
everything that wowed me I could emulated in PHP with JavaScript.

But I really want to start HAVING to learn C#.Net because all around me
I see ".Net is the way of the future!" So, to get my boss to consider
implimenting Mono or some other .Net platform on our Linux server, I
need to justify why. And to solve my own doubts about the necessity of
..Net.

So, could I get some examples of what unique benefits .Net has over PHP
(or even ASP) and JavaScript?
I suppose quick and easy datagrids can be the first item. But what
else?

Thanks!
Liam
PS: Being a PHP guy, I understand C# is not to hard to pick up?
Especially over VB.Net?

Nov 16 '05 #1
6 5713
Probably one of the primary benefits of ASP.NET would be that it is a
compiled language, and has much better interopt capabilities than PHP.
Unlike PHP, you don't have to buy a special product to compile it.

You also have a complete debugger in .NET, the PHP "debugger" from Zend
just doesn't work as nicely, and you have to pay for it anyway.

PHP classes have a lot of shortcomings, it isn't a true OOP language so
you end up having to do a lot of tricks to get something to work right.

Really a better comparison would be to Java... I don't think anybody
seriously writes enterprise applications in PHP.

Lowell

ne**@celticbear.com wrote:
I need some concise, easy to grok examples of what .Net (preferably
C#.Net) has over just using old ASP or PHP with JavaScript.

See, I'm a PHP guy, and while I started server-side scripting with ASP,
I hate it. But last year I had the opportunity to work with a company
that was developing sites in VB.Net. And I was wowed! The stuff they
could do was really nice and impressive, and I got the chance to learn
a little about datagrids. Was impressed.

Now a year later working exclusively on a Linux server, I've found that
everything that wowed me I could emulated in PHP with JavaScript.

But I really want to start HAVING to learn C#.Net because all around me
I see ".Net is the way of the future!" So, to get my boss to consider
implimenting Mono or some other .Net platform on our Linux server, I
need to justify why. And to solve my own doubts about the necessity of
.Net.

So, could I get some examples of what unique benefits .Net has over PHP
(or even ASP) and JavaScript?
I suppose quick and easy datagrids can be the first item. But what
else?

Thanks!
Liam
PS: Being a PHP guy, I understand C# is not to hard to pick up?
Especially over VB.Net?

Nov 16 '05 #2
the benefits of .NET web programming...
ASP.NET Web Forms provide an easy and powerful way to build dynamic Web
UI.
ASP.NET Web Forms pages can target any browser client (there are no
script library or cookie requirements).
ASP.NET Web Forms pages provide syntax compatibility with existing ASP
pages.
ASP.NET server controls provide an easy way to encapsulate common
functionality.
ASP.NET ships with 45 built-in server controls. Developers can also use
controls built by third parties.
ASP.NET server controls can automatically project both uplevel and
downlevel HTML.
ASP.NET templates provide an easy way to customize the look and feel of
list server controls.
ASP.NET validation controls provide an easy way to do declarative client
or server data validation.

--
rajagopal

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!
Nov 16 '05 #3
Hmm, OK, all that sounds impressive, but there's the deal...I don't
have a CIS degree. I taught myself PHP (and ASP too for that matter) by
the process of:
"I need to figure out a way to store this info and recall it later. Oh
and formatting it this way would be nice too," and then using webmonkey
or php.net or newsgroups or an inexpensive book from Amazon to figure
it out.
So I know how to store, recall, format dynamic data but I don't know
the proper names of any of the processes. "Array" and "Function" is
about as far as I know.

So, in stoopid-idiot terms, what are the benefits? If that's even
possible to do it that way.
Like, ".Net allows you to make swirly colors and go 'moo'." Better yet,
I know this is nearly impossible, but are there Web sites out there
that use .Net technology that is doing something I can SEE that is not
doable in PHP/ASP?

Like "A site using only ASP to make swirly colors go 'moo' looks like
this: aspsite.com; but if one uses .Net to do it, it looks like this:
aspnetsite.com plus because of asp.net you have these options whereas
you can't with ASP."
You know what I mean?

Saying "it isn't a true OOP language so you end up having to do a lot
of tricks to get something to work right." unfortunately doesn't mean
anything to me. =( I wouldn't know OOP from an apple. I know if I have
a mySQL database, and I need to store data, and search data, and print
the data back to the user, or create a shopping cart even I can do that
pretty easy in PHP. I can't imagine anything I've had to do in PHP that
I've had to use a "trick" to get to work. But then, I probably only
know 5-10% of what even PHP is capable of.
Which is why if .Net is going to be the way of the Internet, I'd rather
learn about all the cool things C#.Net can do instead of the rest of
the 90% of PHP. But, I need examples of what .Net can do over
PHP/JavaScript to know just what I'm missing. What kinds of things
would I be able to do, sites I could develop with .Net that I can't do
now.

Thanks for your time!!
Liam

Nov 16 '05 #4
If you are only doing work for fun, or for small projects, then there is
really no match for PHP in what you can do easily or quickly. ASP comes
somewhat close in ease of use, but ASP has some really annoying lack of
features ( Such as not being able to use variables for file includes )

But for serious projects that will need much more functionality, you are
going to run into a wall in PHP because of the lack of interop with
other technologies(other than linux versions).

One of the things that you can definitely do in ASP.NET is actually see
what you are designing. You can use custom controls that have properties
that you can set in a GUI, instead of just using code.

And one of the big areas of improvement in .NET is it's ability to
handle XML data. PHP has to use extra libraries to even handle it, which
have to be installed in the binary distribution, and you won't find them
on every web server out there. It's been a while since I've used PHP,
but that was a severe problem before.

You have much better control over data in general in .NET as well, with
all of the flexibility in ADO.NET.

But again, PHP works really great for sites that don't have a ton of
functionality.

Lowell


ne**@celticbear.com wrote:
Hmm, OK, all that sounds impressive, but there's the deal...I don't
have a CIS degree. I taught myself PHP (and ASP too for that matter) by
the process of:
"I need to figure out a way to store this info and recall it later. Oh
and formatting it this way would be nice too," and then using webmonkey
or php.net or newsgroups or an inexpensive book from Amazon to figure
it out.
So I know how to store, recall, format dynamic data but I don't know
the proper names of any of the processes. "Array" and "Function" is
about as far as I know.

So, in stoopid-idiot terms, what are the benefits? If that's even
possible to do it that way.
Like, ".Net allows you to make swirly colors and go 'moo'." Better yet,
I know this is nearly impossible, but are there Web sites out there
that use .Net technology that is doing something I can SEE that is not
doable in PHP/ASP?

Like "A site using only ASP to make swirly colors go 'moo' looks like
this: aspsite.com; but if one uses .Net to do it, it looks like this:
aspnetsite.com plus because of asp.net you have these options whereas
you can't with ASP."
You know what I mean?

Saying "it isn't a true OOP language so you end up having to do a lot
of tricks to get something to work right." unfortunately doesn't mean
anything to me. =( I wouldn't know OOP from an apple. I know if I have
a mySQL database, and I need to store data, and search data, and print
the data back to the user, or create a shopping cart even I can do that
pretty easy in PHP. I can't imagine anything I've had to do in PHP that
I've had to use a "trick" to get to work. But then, I probably only
know 5-10% of what even PHP is capable of.
Which is why if .Net is going to be the way of the Internet, I'd rather
learn about all the cool things C#.Net can do instead of the rest of
the 90% of PHP. But, I need examples of what .Net can do over
PHP/JavaScript to know just what I'm missing. What kinds of things
would I be able to do, sites I could develop with .Net that I can't do
now.

Thanks for your time!!
Liam

Nov 16 '05 #5
Well, I don't know a lot about PHP. What I can tell you is that, from an
end-user perspective you can probably find a way to provide that special
swirly-thing using a whole bunch of different tools. I can't tell you that
..Net is going to differentiate itself very much in terms of what kind of
cool looking effects that you can put on the browser (in all tools, some of
those effects will be easier/harder).

From my perspective, the things that .Net really brings to the table have to
do with OOP, and other more advanced issues. I used a few different tools
in my time, and (in very general, almost unfairly general terms), I can say
that you can pull off the same or nearly the same end-user experience with
just about any tool. The real differences tend to come out in terms of how
much effort that experience requires, how extensible and maintainable that
experience is, and how much it costs to support it. Oh, and also some
environments have a higher "ceiling" than others -- ceiling describing the
upper-most limits of what you can do. For example, you simply couldn't
create certain types of COM components with VB 6.0 etc.

Properly applied OOP techniques will tend to drive down the cost of creating
that swirly-thing experience and perhaps help to make that code more
reuseable or easier to extend. These are the areas where .Net is going to
exceed PHP (and I suspect that .net has a higher "ceiling", but I can't make
that claim assertively because I don't really know much about PHP).

What I would say is that you cannot truly evaluate Net vs. PHP if you don't
understand the OOP stuff, because it is precisely in that area where .Net
holds advantage. Otherwise it would be like, I don't know, like trying to
describe the difference between 2 pieces of audio equipment to someone who
can't hear.

Do you need OOP? I don't know. It depends upon what you want to do.
However, if you find yourself doing more and more complicated stuff, and if
you find yourself having to copy code just to make small changes to a new
page, such that you have a bunch of copies of really similar code, and if
you find yourself wondering if there is some way to reduce the cost/time
spent on some of your enhancements and bug fixes, OOP might be of interest
to you. Not to imply that it's a magic bullet -- you can do it right or
wrong with any technology you choose. I'm certainly not trying to
trivialize the cost of enhancements and bug fixes. However, OOP is a good
thing to know -- especially if you want to take that next step as a
developer.

<ne**@celticbear.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@c13g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
Hmm, OK, all that sounds impressive, but there's the deal...I don't
have a CIS degree. I taught myself PHP (and ASP too for that matter) by
the process of:
"I need to figure out a way to store this info and recall it later. Oh
and formatting it this way would be nice too," and then using webmonkey
or php.net or newsgroups or an inexpensive book from Amazon to figure
it out.
So I know how to store, recall, format dynamic data but I don't know
the proper names of any of the processes. "Array" and "Function" is
about as far as I know.

So, in stoopid-idiot terms, what are the benefits? If that's even
possible to do it that way.
Like, ".Net allows you to make swirly colors and go 'moo'." Better yet,
I know this is nearly impossible, but are there Web sites out there
that use .Net technology that is doing something I can SEE that is not
doable in PHP/ASP?

Like "A site using only ASP to make swirly colors go 'moo' looks like
this: aspsite.com; but if one uses .Net to do it, it looks like this:
aspnetsite.com plus because of asp.net you have these options whereas
you can't with ASP."
You know what I mean?

Saying "it isn't a true OOP language so you end up having to do a lot
of tricks to get something to work right." unfortunately doesn't mean
anything to me. =( I wouldn't know OOP from an apple. I know if I have
a mySQL database, and I need to store data, and search data, and print
the data back to the user, or create a shopping cart even I can do that
pretty easy in PHP. I can't imagine anything I've had to do in PHP that
I've had to use a "trick" to get to work. But then, I probably only
know 5-10% of what even PHP is capable of.
Which is why if .Net is going to be the way of the Internet, I'd rather
learn about all the cool things C#.Net can do instead of the rest of
the 90% of PHP. But, I need examples of what .Net can do over
PHP/JavaScript to know just what I'm missing. What kinds of things
would I be able to do, sites I could develop with .Net that I can't do
now.

Thanks for your time!!
Liam

Nov 16 '05 #6
HPC
ne**@celticbear.com wrote in news:1102526445.173897.307970
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
I need some concise, easy to grok examples of what .Net (preferably
C#.Net) has over just using old ASP or PHP with JavaScript.

See, I'm a PHP guy, and while I started server-side scripting with ASP,
I hate it. But last year I had the opportunity to work with a company
that was developing sites in VB.Net. And I was wowed! The stuff they
could do was really nice and impressive, and I got the chance to learn
a little about datagrids. Was impressed.

Now a year later working exclusively on a Linux server, I've found that
everything that wowed me I could emulated in PHP with JavaScript.

But I really want to start HAVING to learn C#.Net because all around me
I see ".Net is the way of the future!" So, to get my boss to consider
implimenting Mono or some other .Net platform on our Linux server, I
need to justify why. And to solve my own doubts about the necessity of
.Net.

So, could I get some examples of what unique benefits .Net has over PHP
(or even ASP) and JavaScript?
I suppose quick and easy datagrids can be the first item. But what
else?

Thanks!
Liam
PS: Being a PHP guy, I understand C# is not to hard to pick up?
Especially over VB.Net?


Being a long time PHP programmer and recently picking up C# over the last
year I can honestly say that C# does have a couple things over PHP: it's
IDE Visual Studio is a great with a debugger, compiler and lots of tools
and for new developers it forces very strong OOP habits. C# can access
DLLs "better" than PHP; however, PHP can access COM DLLs allowing you to
load Word, etc if installed on the local server; C# normally requires
unsafe methods to access non-COM Dlls and needs wrappers to be written for
these functions... so I'm wary about really calling this a victory over
PHP. Both of these advantages are Windows only.

I'd like to state that there is no "correct langauge" to program in, only
the best language for a certain job. PHP isn't a stongly typed language
meaning you don't have to worry about variable assignments and properly
typing objects into usable data... the data is always usable. PHP has had
good OO support since version 4 and continues to address user critisism to
improve it's product. PHP is better at creating HTML on the fly. PHP is
an open-source, free, mature programming language. If it works for your
company, especially if you're in a *nix enviornment, I can't see a reason
for switching over to mono.

For more information take a look at
http://us4.php.net/manual/en/faq.languages.php

Most companies purchase Microsoft products because there's a comercial
support system set up in case of emergencies and because most schools teach
on Microsoft languages/enviornments. This is the same reason why Java
became so popular, Sun + University = language everyone knows.
Nov 16 '05 #7

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