Which is best to learn? ASP / PHP etc etc

I want to learn web programming primarily for databases and interactive content..

There are so many web-programming languages but I dont know which one is best - I heard ASP.NET is the better one but is it?

When I see Job Openings for web design it seems to be mostly PHP they require (other than Dreamweaver & Flash)....

I have Adobe Masters Collection, Frontpage and Visual Web Developer

Fixing Computers is my forte - I done a website for a friend and now Im doing TWO more so I wouldnt mind bettering my skills cos as of this moment I can only build basic sites with tables etc

thanks

 

That's probably because PHP is free, Apache is free, and MySQL is free. So it's more cost effect for companies to use it.

 

IMO the .NET framework is overpriced and it needs a Windows server to run on. Anyone can learn and use PHP and Linux hosting packages are a lot cheaper than Windows for pretty much the same deal, which is why it's more common.

As for the actual language, I don't know much about ASP but I picked up PHP in a couple of weeks (with previous programming experience). There is a massive debate on the matter - just search for "PHP vs ASP". Some claim that because ASP is professionally developed it is better than the open source alternative. This may be true in many cases, but PHP is cheaper and easier (in terms of getting space to run it) to learn. And of course there's the fact that you're supporting an open source project

 

ASP - Don't ever learn this!
ASP.NET - If you are looking for enterprise work or want to learn C# and enterprise programming then learn this. In most cases this will pay better then PHP.
PHP - If you plan to work on personal projects then learn this. In most cases you can finish projects much faster than other languages. However (in most cases) it is much easier to write ugly PHP compared to other languages.

If you go for PHP then learn it good! Learn proper practices and OOP when working with large projects. 99% of scripts and PHP code found on the internet contains bad practices!

This article is a very good read. Keep it in mind when working on PHP.

http://www.oreillynet.com/ruby/blog/2007/09/7_reasons_i_switched_back_to_p_1.html

 

I have had 2 clients in the last few months get rid of me half way through projects because they want ASP.net ASP (yeah dnt lean it). But get get big money its ASP.net, PHP is fun and easier, and still creates some amazing stuff

 

wow thanks for your replys guys - i now know where i stand...

I want to learn C# so maybe im best learning BOTH - I have books on VB , C# and JAVAscript which im dying to get stuck into and PDF's + video-tutorials for Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, SEO, CSS, PHP+MySQL - but the problem seems to be I want to learn so much but dont know what to start with? and work & my newly found web-projects seem to take up all my time..

maybe i should start with what I require - my line of work is PC Repair / IT Consultant but Iam getting requests for websites to be built so I think maybe its important that I learn More Dreamweaver, Photoshop / illustrator , CSS, SEO , PHP , ASP.NET , MySQL first then in my spare-time I can study C# (this will help with ASP.NET) , JAVAscript , Flash etc....

 

If you are getting requests for websites than do them in PHP, it won't be worth the effort in ASP.NET.

 

yeah so I see.... ive got my tutorials...
thanks

 

I say PHP. Its FREE, and so a lot cheaper to make your own projects, the downside is that companies are obsessed with Microsoft and therefore ASP & ASP.NET are good for that type of career. Best would be to convince your client that PHP is better.

 

whats the best, effective and easy way to learn PHP?

 

trial and errors how i learnt but took 2/3 years lol

 

php.net is a good place to learn

 

I used a combination of books and internet tutorials. I have PHP and MySQL for dummies, learn PHP in 24 hours and I borrowed a couple of other books from my library. I learnt PHP fairly quickly because I already had quite a good grasp of the principles of programming, but PHP is pretty simple anyway. I'd agree with namenotfound that php.net is an awesome resource for learning the language - I still use it a lot for reference of functions. But everyone learns differently, so you really have to find your own way that suits you. Good luck

 

I'm afraid of learning sessions, cookies, and scopes!