ASP.NET Hype

I'm wondering if this whole .NET hype is actually good, or just a buzz word.

People say that ASP.NET is compiled instead of run-time, and that already puts it ahead of PHP.

My question, is it worth checking out for a *nix and PHP programmer? or stay with what I have going and let the MS people use whatever they want?

Regards.
LK

i can´t answer your question, but i need to correct you. actually there is a php compiler already for a long time. so why is asp ahead on this?

I know you'll hate me for what I'm about to say , but PHP (at this point) can't compete with .NET. In fact PHP and .NET can't even be compared.

The .NET framework is an environment for building, deploying, and running Web Services and Web Applications. Microsoft developed it as a framework for universal services and it's generally based on the new Internet standards such as XML, SOAP, UDDI, etc. The .NET Framework has thousands of classes divided into common class libraries similar to JavaSDK. ASP.NET is just one part of the .NET framework just like JSP is one part of the J2EE framework. It's still language neutral, but now supports some hardcore languages like C++, C#, etc. Last but not least Microsoft offers a powerfull set of tools for the .NET enviroment called Visual Studio.NET.

.NET is definitely not just a buzz word, but I doubt it can outrun a monster like J2EE. Microsoft is the most responsible for this ".NET hype". Quote from the asp.net website: ".NET significantly outperformed J2EE...blah blah... .NET was 28x faster (that's 2700%)...blah blah..." Yeah, right. Lmao

PHP is my langague of choice for web programming in general, but when it comes to developing secure, platform independent, commercial (particularly B2B) web applications I think the choice is obvious - Java (unless you're a Microsoft.NET fan).

Cheers.

I only said that because ASP.NET can be compiled without anything else (besides the software you have to buy), and yes, I know you can compile PHP with Zend Encoder.

Regarding your question, one thing I have pointed out over and over at my work is that many of our applications are call and response applications - perfect for the web, and perfect for PHP. They are trying to get us on the .NET bandwagon, and I always ask two big questions:

1) How does it make our job easier?
2) Do you even know what XML is when you talk about XML support? (that is what I like to call a reality check question)

For a true, independent application, I can see using other tools such as Java or C# on the .Net platform (that's another thing: .Net is made up of many parts. A good explanation and the open-source alternative can be found at http://www.go-mono.com/faq.html), but if your applications are just fine working over httpd, then I vote PHP is awesome.

Another aspect of PHP is how server-side system scripts can be written in the language as well, so one can easily build web pages, then write a little script run by a cron job to do cleanup or what have you, in the same language.

I spoke to a unbiased ASP.NET user, and we had a good discussion about it and PHP. He brought up points that ASP.NET allows you to do a 3-tier application architecture, and that lots of things are already done for you. So I showed him my e-commerce application written in PHP using my own architecture. We both agreed that my PHP application was up-to-par with the functionality of ASP.NET. So the only real difference between the two languages, in my opinion, is the fact that one is compiled out-of-the-box, and the other isn't (not yet, anyway). To me it really boils down to how much of the language you can use, so it's a matter of preference.

I gave ASP.NET a try on my XP box, and it seems to be ok. When you first open the page, it'll take a few seconds grinding away at the source making it into a binary (just like JSP apps), and after it's a binary, the page is lightning fast. But I predict the same results can be achived with Zend Accelerator (heafty price tag though).

I guess I will have to go with the "skills most wanted" that I see advertised on Australian job sites such as http://www.seek.com.au/ , http://www.mycareer.com.au/ and http://www.monster.com.au/ ...

ASP
ASP.NET
.NET (in general)
SQL Server
Oracle
MS Access
JSP / J2EE / Servlets / Other Java
C#
VB
PowerBuilder
XML / XSL / some other XML variant

Even though I think that most of what MS has to offer is utter BS and prefer to use the cheaper, often more reliable OpenSource technologies. I can't argue with the evidence shown in Job Adverts, ".NET" has become more than a buzz word or hype in Australia.

(Yes, I know that there are OpenSource jobs advertised also on the above mentioned sites, but you can't look far with out them wanting some obscure technology (priced beyond the reach of most common unemployed mortal men/women who want to try and learn it) or one / more of the above technologies as well).