[Gallard]

I like to learn web programming but I don’t know which is more useful for building web sites?

[ShikhaTan]

The general consensus would be PHP. For the sole reason nearly every webhost out there supports it in combination with MySQL, and this gives it the edge not only when developing for yourself, but especially when developing commercial software.

[SapnaVishwas]

Yes. However, I have a Windows Server server box myself, and as I’m a big fan of .NET I really like ASP.NET as well. What I feel PHP lacks – and .NET provides – is a set framework for RAD. Whenever I’m doing anything in PHP, it feels like a huge repetitive grind rather than I’m actually developing something.

Perhaps one could argue CodeIgniter is one such frameworks, but I can’t say it is comparable to .NET, whatever Java offers or even std for C/C++.

[Amit]

ASP.NET is easier and it supports C# and VB.NET. Downside is PHP is more ubiquitous than ASP.NET. I never had a problem using ASP.NET and SQL Server.

[Adan]

Just because php is compatible with most webhost doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use asp.net platform.

Most webhosts are changing their packets to support even the newer versions of asp.net such as asp.net mvc 3 and webmatrix.

Downside is you’ll probably use MSSQL which pays extra when buying a webhost. Well recently there have been various updates of MYSQL support in the asp.net platform (mysql connector).
Microsoft’s web development is really expanding at a ridiculous rate. It’s worth learning it and using it for your projects. Especially if all you develop for are Microsoft products.
Even companies are switching over to a microsoft product for web development (well here it is, been seeing more and more .aspx webpages everyday).

[Ganesh]

Depends on what you want to do, yes PHP is open source and all host can support it since it. It can do nice things but ASP.NET as mentioned supports C# and VB, both can handle a SQL database no difference. PHP can be very interactive but so can ASP.NET.

PHP code runs faster than ASP. ASP is built on COM based architecture, PHP is based on C++ language and the syntax used in PHP is quite similar to C/C++. C/C++ is still considered the best programming language by many programmers and people who love this language would surely feel more comfortable with the syntax of PHP. ASP on the other hand has a more Visual Basic kind of syntax that again is closely related to only Microsoft products.

What comes to mind with Microsoft is cost. Both are great and have their advantages and disadvantages. People who have not worked with or used ASP will say PHP and those who have had the honor to play with and understand what C# can really do to a webpage will say ASP.

[SapnaVishwas]

PHP is widely used, even facebook is using PHP. This means it is already tested for mass use and easy to maintain.

Just because something is widely used or by somebody popular doesn’t mean that it’s something you should use…

I think (or hope) the OP meant ASP.NET, not ASP Wink

You are comparing apples to oranges.

How do you mean? Both are used for web-development, so both are apples, I think.

[ShikhaTan]

asp you gotta pay to use

Not really, Express editions of C# and VB.NET are free and allow for creation of ASP.NET projects.

[GloriaFine]

The difference is with express editions and ultimate (paid though, not student stuff and all).
If you ever want to sell software and you use microsoft’s libraries (seeing you using visual studio, you probably will).

You’re not allowed to sell it closed source.
Other than that… As hobbyist developer or freelance you will not notice a difference at all.

[Adan]

i personally would recommend php because:

-PHP provided by all web hosting companies
-It is free and Open Source (You could download a full working application and learn how it is made)
-You could easily install bundle of Apache, php, mysql and others on to your box.
-PHP is easy to learn and once you learn it well you could easily write an aspx script with little training of some syntax difference.
-If you learn php well and you continue with learning oop then you would not do any repetitive work.
-There is so much help available and so much tutorial available for free.
-If you are a visual learner there is wealth of professional tutorial on ytube.
-If you search wbb for php training you could download hundreds of hours of php training from lynda, total training, nettuts++ and more.

The list can go on for ever and you can not say that about aspx. First of all you would need to purchase visual studio of course wbb is always there for you
but stuff you download here should only be limited to educational purpose and should not be used as if you own the license.

That is just my opinion, you would have to make the last call. Good luck.

[SapnaVishwas]

PHP in itself is a very powerful programming language I think; perhaps even more so than ASP.NET. This is because it’s a weak-typed language and feels very flexible to work with. The only thing I really lack though in it is a solid “base” as it were, I mentioned the IDE earlier – and thecodingdude kindly pointed me at VS.php – but it still doesn’t have a framework like .NET. If this were to change – and perhaps things like Code Igniter is one such, I’ve no experience with it – I think I’d be much more likely to do more in PHP. I’m mainly missing a RAD component..

[ShikhaTan]

A website is as secure as YOU make it. Point is, you start with a blank page, that can’t be insecure, so the only reason it’s insecure is because you’ve made it like that. If there are insecurities in your code try find out why. If it’s because of an external script then get rid of it.

And there is no real “ideal” language to learn. It’s what you want to do, if you think your project or learning experience will be smoother with ASPX go with that. PHP is pretty popular so you’ve got a large community to aid you.