PHP Vs. ASP.NET

So, I just recently started building web applications in ASP.NET because my MVP Programmer friend told me that was the best way to go, but I have come to realize that many of the web sites I visit including this one are all constructed using PHP. So my question is, which is better: ASP.NET or PHP?

I know each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but I want to understand why people (from what I've seen) choose PHP over ASP.NET.

I'd say php is much better, mainly because I'm used to it more than asp/asp.net and also, because I like to use cURL a lot and I'm not sure it works with asp :p

I am unfamiliar with cURL, would you mind explaining?

Placebo wrote: I am unfamiliar with cURL, would you mind explaining?

Alright, cURL is an extension for php, it allows you to re-create a site and display it, check my thread "Recreating a site", you can also use it to post remotely, e.g, log into hbh or hotmail etc from a script :) it's also used for phproxies a lot of the time.

There is also libcurl which is a command line version of cURL :)

Ah, cURL seems quite handy. I don't know if ASP.NET has something similar to that. So, besides cURL and the fact that you are unfamiliar with ASP.NET, is there any other reason why PHP was your language of choice?

Well I'd always been eager to learn it since I started hacking/coding, it's a nice language too, I think you can do more with it than asp.net too

Alright, thanks for your input. I actually was going to learn PHP first, but installing it was a little too much work (laziness is an issue), so I just downloaded MS Visaul Studio 2005 and started working with ASP.NET. Visual Studio makes creating web sites incredibly easy. And, since ASP.NET and Visual Basic.NET go hand in hand, that was the main reasoning for my decision. That, and my programmer friend, who's been an ASP.NET and VB.NET programmer for years, told me that PHP is old and outdated and the .NET technologies blow PHP away. Even though her opinion seemed a little "Nazi", it was enough to influence me.

Ok cool. I have played around with ASP.NET also. It just really matters where you want to take your programming to. I mean, you cannot learn ASP.NET, C#, and PHP all at once. Plus you want to ask yourself what kind of applacations you want to build and or manipulate. They are all powerful and all have pro's and con's. But if you're going to start coding in PHP than I highly suggest this: http://www.hudzilla.org/php/

SwiftNomad

Hey in my opinon compare php and asp.net is really difficult, but here we go. Imo asp.net beat php when it's coming to fast, easy, simple and really professional projects. the main disadvantage is speed ( i only heard about it ) it is slower than php, but not really much :right: . Besides Visual Studio rocks ! I love writing code there it is so easy and in my technic of programming C# + asp.net the syntax is the same :) ( InteliSense rocks also ) but of course some php everybody should know for some reasons :ninja:

Last time i created script in asp.net for uploading new tutorials ( probably full of bugs but it's working B) ) and it looked really clean and simple. I also think that working with databases is really great and everything of it in one app :happy:

ok pretty much writing for the first post ;)

Listen mate, you are never going to get a non bias opinion. The only thing I can tell you is the truth.

ASP.net: requires a windows server, this is good if you plan on hosting a site off your server and don't know linux. The downfall is that if you want proffessional hosting from a 3rd party source, windows hosting and servers usually come a tad bit more expensive. As far as the general sites come, you can still interact with an SQL server and there are even a few ASP CMS's around for you to pick and choose from to get a real good quality site. The down side is that most people don't have an ASP server, so if you wanted to make web based tools like Dossers, Proxies, and bots asp isn't probably going to be the language for you. However, I have seen some ASP shells but those only work on ASP sites.

PHP: Is a language that runs on any environment (not sure about mac), and is capable of making sites very interactive. Since it can run on any environment, PHP hosting is often cheap if not free. The problem (or the bonus, just depends on how you look at it) is that it isn't made by microsoft so you will not get the easy way out learning programing. The plus side of this is that you will get a good knowledge of how more advanced coding like C++ and Java are set up, so you can upgrade to a more proffessional level of coding later. PHP has some nice features, and in my opinion is one of the most addictive coding languages I have ever learned. PHP also has the abillity to make tools, like Dossers, proxies, and IRC bots fairly easily if you leanrn the right functions (which isn't hard with the PHP function library). PHP's downfall comes with the fact that it does take a bit of time learning, but in good news there are sites like Tizag.com to get you started off quickly and in the right direction. Also, you will be able to find loads of great PHP codes and learn from those people as most PHP is open-source.

Over all it just depends on what direction you wish to take.