ASP or PHP

[windchimes]

I am incharge of shaping a new site for my organisation. As
someone not so sure on behind the details I wish to know
whether I should suggest PHP or ASP. Heard PHP is faster as well
as more flexible .

Wish to know the pros and cons and expert opinion.

[aditya.shevade]

Search.... S E A R C H....

[toofan]

Go for PHP you heard right. and if you can go a bit down you can find a similar thread.

[victor_rambo]

1. Since PHP is free, you can save money on hosting. PHP works great with MySQL-a free database server.
2. There are many free and open source packages like Joomla, Wordpress, Wiki that are available for PHP, MySQL. Those powered by ASP/MSSQL will cost you good money.
3. This is just what I think, may not be true: That you can find a PHP developer more easily than a ASP developer. This may just be theoretical.

So, when you finally decide, don't just think about hosting costs. The difference in costs could be peanuts, but you should think more importants about the post-hosting things like software packages, etc.

[nikhilpai]

Originally Posted by rohan_shenoy

3. This is just what I think, may not be true: That you can find a PHP developer more easily than a ASP developer. This may just be theoretical.

No. This isn't true. For every 10 ASP developers u will find in the market, u will find only 1 PHP developer. Unfortunate but true. I have been searching for good PHP designers in Mumbai for the last couple of months but there are very few of them. ASP developers are found in every nook & corner.

[victor_rambo]

Originally Posted by nikeel

No. This isn't true. For every 10 ASP developers u will find in the market, u will find only 1 PHP developer. Unfortunate but true. I have been searching for good PHP designers in Mumbai for the last couple of months but there are very few of them. ASP developers are found in every nook & corner.

Hmm...btw what do you think about the quality of programming here? Do you yourself have knowledge of programming?

[nikhilpai]

Originally Posted by rohan_shenoy

Hmm...btw what do you think about the quality of programming here? Do you yourself have knowledge of programming?

No. I am not a programmer myself. I only work a bit around open source PHP programs like Wordpress & phpBB forums.

I have interviewed almost a dozen programmers in the last 2-3 months for my website and the general opinion what I get from the programmers is that open source based PHP programs are a complete no-no for most developers. The reason is that learning it in depth is a still curve and hence customising it according to the customers' needs is a pain.

Their preference is first for ASP.NET and if you insist on PHP then they offer a custom-made PHP website instead of using a open source PHP based website.

My personal preference is for PHP, but then I am not a programmer, so I cannot say that with complete authority.

[victor_rambo]

^What type of customization did you ask the? CSS theming or writing additonal codes?

[nikhilpai]

Originally Posted by rohan_shenoy

^What type of customization did you ask the? CSS theming or writing additonal codes?

I wanted them to use a open source CMS like Drupal or Joomla and integrate it with open source forums and eCommerce carts with a single-sign on facility.

[victor_rambo]

hmmm....what exactly was their response? Did he decline at the moment they heard it or after giving it some thought?

[nikhilpai]

Originally Posted by rohan_shenoy

hmmm....what exactly was their response? Did he decline at the moment they heard it or after giving it some thought?

Most of the times, they accepted to do it initially. But later they came back saying that they would either do it in ASP.NET or in custom PHP.

I have found just one developer who has finally agreed to do it in open source PHP.

[victor_rambo]

hmmm...integrating OS modules requires a lot of changes esp in the authentication modules. Right from collecting the cookies, processing them with the database and post-auth functions. It could be a catastrophe for the one who does not have a good going at logic and simplicity!

[nikhilpai]

If one has to choose between different OS PHP modules for integration, which combination would u suggest? I need CMS+Forums+Shoppingcart


Would u suggest Joomla+SMF+OSCommerce. Or say Drupal+phpBB+ZenCart. Or any other combination?

[victor_rambo]

For a CMS, I will suggest Joomla. mambo too is very similar but joomla code is better I feel.
For forums, go for MyBB. MyBB has recently gone open source(GPL 3, as opposed to their previous proprietery license). MyBB has a great security team. It almost like vB for free.

As for a shopping cart, I have no experience to suggest any.

[nikhilpai]

Ok. Thanks !!

Currently I have SMF Forums running on one of my sites. But MyBB does look very interesting.

Let me find if there is a SMF--> MyBB converter available

[kapsicum]

For Shopping Cart, OScommerce is most widely used since its quite feature rich

[victor_rambo]

Yep, myBB is great, and that is free is like icing on the cake!

Thanks kapsicum, I will try OScommerce out soon!

[windchimes]

Originally Posted by nikeel

No. I am not a programmer myself. I only work a bit around open source PHP programs like Wordpress & phpBB forums.

I have interviewed almost a dozen programmers in the last 2-3 months for my website and the general opinion what I get from the programmers is that open source based PHP programs are a complete no-no for most developers. The reason is that learning it in depth is a still curve and hence customising it according to the customers' needs is a pain.

Their preference is first for ASP.NET and if you insist on PHP then they offer a custom-made PHP website instead of using a open source PHP based website.

My personal preference is for PHP, but then I am not a programmer, so I cannot say that with complete authority.

Nikeel...So finally have you got anyone..?? I wish to get some real good web developers
who has some good aesthetic skills too who can comeup with solutions as per our demands and vision. In the recent past I was working with some guys on ASP.net , but their output
as well as design choices are below average. I had to design the elements for them but since I cant do it for each and everything (but can give the needed inputs) I need guys
who can comeup with quality outputs as per the vision we have...

Any suggestion here...anyone..??

[nikhilpai]

^ I have PMed you the name & website address of the firm who is willing to work on Open Source PHP.

[windchimes]

Originally Posted by nikeel

^ I have PMed you the name & website address of the firm who is willing to work on Open Source PHP.

Thanks Nikeel;

[gary4gar]

Did you try searching of Website like Getafreelancer.com?

[victor_rambo]

Originally Posted by gary4gar

Did you try searching of Website like Getafreelancer.com?

Ya, one gets many offers there, but most are just so annoying n irritating:

Sir, we are a leading indian firm.
We specialize in <insert names of all programming languages you know>.
Our rates are cheapest in india and our work is best quality.

Then, there's a price war, who can quote the least?

And finally, when the project owner is happy to see that someone has quoted him the lowest and tries to contact him, either they do not respond, or appear clueless!

Many have a not-so-good reputation when it comes to their coding skills, etc. And there are many college students out there who want to make a quick buck without ny commitments. So its always risky to hand it over to an irresponsible person.

Just go and checkout on some Americn forums what people are saying. Many Americans had to have their entire code rewritten by some americal programmer after an Indian freelancer had written it.(Oh, nothing unpatriotic!)

If one wants to hire freelancers via internet, then they should look with premium sites like eLance.com that charge a fee to join. This ensures that most chancers are weeded out.