which language?

@andyshepJun 27.2004

hi all.

over the last year i have been learning html and javascript.

now its time for me to move on to cgi and databases.

what would be the best cgi language to learn perl? hey i dunno 😮

what about sql languages any recommendations.

any advice would be helpfull
thx
andy ?

to post a comment

Full-stack Developer

18 Comments(s) _↴

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by andyshep [/i]

[B]hi all.

over the last year i have been learning html and javascript.

now its time for me to move on to cgi and databases.

what would be the best cgi language to learn perl? hey i dunno :eek:

what about sql languages any recommendations.

any advice would be helpfull

thx

andy ? [/B][/QUOTE] cgi languages?

Clarification time:

To modify a file on the server you need to have a script that runs on the server, hence a server side script. CGI, would be an example of server side scripting. But cgi is just one of many different I guess 'brands' of server side scripting. You also have ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, JSP, Cold Fusion, and some others that are less widely used. SQL is going to go with you just about anywhere, its a norm, its for your data base queries, its the select this from this where this equals this stuff that will go into all of your server side scripts even those the syntax will vary here and there. Data bases can come in different forms too. Here are some data bases: MySQL, MsSQL, MSDE, Oracle, Access, Fox Pro, Protege, XML, plain text file. There are others of course but those are just a few. MySql and php sort of go hand in hand, on the other hand asp and asp.net will mesh well with Mssql and access, but mysql will work with asp and access with php, its not a law or anything, that is just what usually happens.... MSDE is like a light weight MsSQL, MsSQL costs money, but MSDE is free. So MySQL and MSDE are free server data base solutions. Now chances are you will not need to run one of these on your computer and your host will provide on of the above, I was just giving you a little background info.

You are not going to really need to choose a data base, just choose a language and a host and you will pickup the data base they provide, you do not need to learn a lot of specific stuff for any one data base, just how to modify it manugally and maybe some sql statement syntax changes, but thats not a big deal.

When selecting a server side language you need to ask yourself what does your host currently support, what scripting experience have you had in the past, and who are you doing the scripting for, as knowing some languages will get you further then others in the business world. If you know vb I would go with asp.net, asp classic uses vbscript, but asp.net uses vb.net and is just a lot better then asp classic. If you know java I would say first jsp because jsp uses actual java and you would not need to do much new learning, or I would say you should learn php, or again asp.net because asp.net can use c# which has a java like syntax. If you know c++ then I would say asp.net. The reason I say asp.net so much is because It is my language of choice, and because it has language flexability, its not hard to find a syntax you are familiar with if you do have past scripting experience.

@andyshepauthorJun 27.2004 — #thx for your reply..

wow now im more confused than ever.?

so.. sql is some thing i should learn anyway. its something that i encorporate into the server side scripts?

i dont have any progamming experience except maybee a little C.

there is obviously a large choice of languages to choose from.

what would you recommend for a non-programmer as their first language

who is on a budget.

thx

@NevermoreJun 27.2004 — #PHP is very popular and totally free, plus is one of the fastest and easiest to use. So I would recommend it.

http://www.php.net

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by andyshep [/i]

[B]thx for your reply..

wow now im more confused than ever.?

so.. sql is some thing i should learn anyway. its something that i encorporate into the server side scripts?

i dont have any progamming experience except maybee a little C.

there is obviously a large choice of languages to choose from.

what would you recommend for a non-programmer as their first language

who is on a budget.

thx [/B][/QUOTE] Well, you do not 'learn sql'. You just get to know the syntax for the sql statements with your language. I would not go out and buy a book on just sql or something because that is unnecessary. I am biased, I am always going to suggest asp.net, because that is what I use, and I love it. What does your host support? PHP and ASP.Net (and everything else) will be free to use, but hosting is not always free. PHP has a reputation of being completely free because it will run on apache on linux, but these days even asp.net can do that. But I reccomend asp.net, and later on I know the others will be here plugging php. The one nice thing about asp.net is that it has event oriented controls which can streamline your code and reduce the ammount of work you need to do. The only other thing similar right now would be macromedia cold fusion. I also hear that is pretty easy to pick up, you might look into cold fusion too.

@pyroJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by PeOfEo [/i]

[B]CGI, would be an example of server side scripting. But cgi is just one of many different I guess 'brands' of server side scripting.[/B][/QUOTE]Umm... CGI is actually an interface, not a language or "'brand' of server side scripting". You can write CGI scripts in Perl (the most popular language for CGI scripts) as well as C/C++, Visual Basic, Python, etc.

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by pyro [/i]

[B]Umm... CGI is actually an interface, not a language or "'brand' of server side scripting". You can write CGI scripts in Perl (the most popular language for CGI scripts) as well as C/C++, Visual Basic, Python, etc. [/B][/QUOTE] Asp is not a language either, nor is jsp, or asp.net. Its just what they are referred to as. I am calling it a brand because it is different from php, asp, and the rest. Server side interface is annoying to type.

@the_treeJun 27.2004 — #NO sql [i]is[/i] a server side language just like cgi.*

I am also new to usinga any code other than html. I like php becuase It made sense the first time I read a tutorial on [URL=http://php.net]php.net[/URL]

What your host supports is always a major issue, maybe you should check that first.

*like cgi in that it's a server side script, not all that many other ways.

@pyroJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by PeOfEo [/i]

[B]Asp is not a language either, nor is jsp, or asp.net. Its just what they are referred to as. I am calling it a brand because it is different from php, asp, and the rest. Server side interface is annoying to type. [/B][/QUOTE]Well, when you start your post with "Clarification time:", you should probably clarify correctly. ?

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by the tree [/i]

[B]NO sql [i]is[/i] a server side language just like cgi.*

I am also new to usinga any code other than html. I like php becuase It made sense the first time I read a tutorial on [URL=http://php.net]php.net[/URL]

What your host supports is always a major issue, maybe you should check that first.

*like cgi in that it's a server side script, not all that many other ways. [/B][/QUOTE] but sql does not stand alone, it is used with another tool. Sql is not a full big language and you are going to use it just about anyhwere you go for the db querys.

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #[i]Originally posted by pyro [/i]

[B]Well, when you start your post with "Clarification time:", you should probably clarify correctly. ? [/B][/QUOTE] I was trying to make it less confusing, aka clarify ? . If I went into depth about what is more of a processor or interface and how php is its own language too, but asp can be done with 3 different ones people might say huh!? and then I am not clarifying.

@andyshepauthorJun 27.2004 — #ok so have narrowed it down to 3 possibilitys..

1.asp.net

2.perl - i like the fact that you say its the most popular.

do you know why its the most popular?

3.coldfusion - I have got macromedia studio MX which comes with the

developer edition i have had a look at it.

the enterprise edition is about £900 which is out of

my budget.

that leaves 1. or 2.

thx for your help guys.. the mist is clearing ever so slightly :p

@PeOfEoJun 27.2004 — #Perl is the most popular, and most used language [b]to write cgi scripts[/b]. That does not make cgi the most popular form of server side scripting though. Perl is a language, CGI, well cgi stans for common gateway interface. Vb.net is a language, asp stands for active server pages. But saying perl is the most popular refers to it is the most popular language used to write cgi scripts, not that it is the most popular thing for writing server side scripts. As far as most popular server side scripts, I would say php is the most widely used all together, and asp is the most widely used in the business world. I would put php back up there in your options and not rule php out. I would say 1) cgi/perl

2) php

3) asp.net

for your options. To use asp.net, you are porbably going to pay more then to use php, the hosting fees will most likely be a bit greater because it is most commonly running on windows servers which whindows is not a free os to run. Asp.net will run on linux, but it will be hard to find a host that is doing this because it is still very new to linux and does not completely 100% done (the two most used languages for asp.net, which are c# and vb.net, are pretty much done from what I have seen though).

Where do you intend to go with this site? Are you planning on making a career of web site design and working with other companies in the future, or what? Php might be the most viable option for you, but in the business world you would be better off with asp.net. Asp.net is the most powerful thing out there today, but the next version of php is around the courner and might change that, I have not been following that too much though.

@andyshepauthorJun 27.2004 — #ok so if i said i was going to learn asp.net

would i need to buy any editing tools etc to write it or could i use a text editor.

If i was to buy a book to learn it do you have any recomendations?

i like o'reilly books they go into depth without being to overpowering-do they do a good asp.net book?

thx peofEo for helping out a newbie.

@andyshepauthorJun 27.2004 — #i dont remember saying sql was not a language.
what about sql languages any recommendations.[/QUOTE]

i have taken about 3 steps backward from posting the first thread.

ok lets say im not dealing with databases but server side scripts..

is perl my best option . i dont know..

i dont pretend to know the ins and outs of any of the languages mentioned.im sure it will become clearer when i start learning a

language.

@MstrBobJun 27.2004 — #If you want my humble opinion, I'd say your best choice is between ASP.net and PHP. PHP can handle CGI as well as Database interaction. ASP.net (from what I hear) gives you a wide choice and is quite powerful and similar to PHP in what it can accomplish. I'm not sure if Perl works with databases.

PeOfEo is right about choosing your server side language based on your host. Since you have no scripting experience, decide which you would prefer, working with ASP.net on a windows server, or <opinion type="biased"> working on good OS's with an awesome, powerful scripting language. </opinion>

In the end it's you personal preference. I went with PHP because I have a unix host which provided PHP with my hosting plan, hence I use it. A pen pal of mine went with ASP classic because his websites were all on Windows servers.

@andyshepauthorJun 27.2004 — #just had a good look at my hosting and it provides php.

i didnt want to start a debate on whats a language or whats not..

you say that php can handle cgi as well as databases..

thats exactly what i was looking for thx...

@buntineJun 28.2004 — #If your host is not running Windows, go for PHP Or Perl. (Or you could get rid of that host and have some fun with ASP!)

I know Perl, though, i would not recommend it to an unexperienced programmer. PHP would be more suited.

You said earlier that you have a little bit of experience with C. Both PHP and Perl are derived from C, syntax-wise.

Regards,

Andrew Buntine.

@buntineJun 28.2004 — #
NO sql is a server side language just like cgi.*
[/quote]
Ahh, no.

SQL is the common language used to manipulate information stored within a database (among other, database related operations). Its far from a server-side language!

Regards.