ASP.net (C#/SQL) Developer to Mac Web Development

[ViViDboarder]

Hey everyone.

I've been looking to do some web development lately for personal ideas. I've been developing at work using ASP.net and C# with SQL. I've come to learn it pretty well considering I have a background in C++ and Java.

I want to find a language I can host on a non-Windows environment that will be an easy transition from what I have gained experience in.

So I'm considering PHP and J2EE already. What are some other alternatives and some positives and negatives to these languages?

Thanks!

I also have Rapidweaver already (MacHeist ) which kind of makes me want to go with PHP, so I don't know.

 

[Cabbit]

PHP + Zend (Or Cabbit )
Ruby on Rails is absolutely terrific (Also look into JRuby)

Java is of course a great choice, though i would still go for Ruby on Rails via JRuby so you can do some of the front end stuff in Rails and the back end in Java.

PHP on its own is pretty good but you'll quickly want to move to a framework there are plenty out there like Zend, CakePHP, my own Cabbit, Codeignightor.
Though for PHP development i recommend Zend + Zend studio, its the big one for enterprise level apps.

Zend Studio is Ecplise + some Zend extentions a bit like Flex builder in that sense.

Personally i use NetBeans with extensions for Rails, JRuby, PHP and Java. Netbeans is quite a nice, well established and supported IDE that should not be too unfamiliar to you.

 

[ViViDboarder]

I have actually used Netbeans for Java development before.

I didn't know much about Rails at all, but looking at some comparisons between J2EE and Rails I'm getting kind of excited. It seems that they are pitted against each other a lot and Rails seems to be starting to come out ahead (my 5 minute analysis. )

 

[Cabbit]

I have actually used Netbeans for Java development before.

I didn't know much about Rails at all, but looking at some comparisons between J2EE and Rails I'm getting kind of excited. It seems that they are pitted against each other a lot and Rails seems to be starting to come out ahead (my 5 minute analysis. )

Rails is a framework for Ruby, version 3 rails is in beta and looking to bring a lot to the table.
Though it seems more that Rails is working with Java than a direct competitor, there are a lot of projects that would traditionally be done in Java moving to Rails and then there are projects using the best of both.

But don't count PHP out a lot of Rails can be replicated though not as nice code, take for example a Cabbit model and a Rails model.

Post.php

<?php
class Post extends ActiveRecord\Model
{
    static $validates_presence_of = array(array('title'), array('body'));
    static $validates_length_of = array(array('title', 'within' => array(3,128)));
    static $has_many = array('replies');
}
between Record and Model there is a slash

Post.rb

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
    validates_presence_of :title :body
    validates_length_of :title, :within => 3..128
    has_many :replies
end

Note: The Cabbit ActiveRecord class is currently 3rd party while i write my own.

 

[ViViDboarder]

Rails is a framework for Ruby, version 3 rails is in beta and looking to bring a lot to the table.
Though it seems more that Rails is working with Java than a direct competitor, there are a lot of projects that would traditionally be done in Java moving to Rails and then there are projects using the best of both.

Ok. I just did a quick search about what JRuby is so correctly me if I'm off here. The actual home pages didn't tell me too much...

But JRuby is coding done in Ruby that is interpreted by the Java VM. So you can program in Ruby but you can include Java to make Java calls as well.

Man, I never thought choosing a good platform would be so difficult!

From what you've said I'm thinking about JRuby on Rails then. I can try to learn Ruby but I can fall back on Java if I need to.

Do any of these implementations have a good grip on enterprise applications? I know a lot of clients that my office works with use things like .Net, Sharepoint, J2EE, Oracle and such. That's one reason I was considering J2EE, just that there'd be some cross-over there.

If JRuby on Rails is just plain nicer, I'll probably go with it anyway though.

EDIT: Saw your edit about PHP... I guess the best thing for me to do is download all of them and give them each a try. Like do a couple quick tutorials and figure out which comes more natural to me. To be honest, the PHP looks more familiar, like C++. But Ruby looks much more elegant.

 

[Cabbit]

For learning rails there is a 20 odd part video tutorial

http://www.buildingwebapps.com/learningrails

It is absolutely terrific.

 

[HomeBru Studios]

I used to do nothing but .Net work. Now I do 99.9% PHP work. I do NOT miss .Net!

I like the strength of Ruby on Rails but I find that not that many web hosts support it yet - the trend seems to be changing slowly so once RoR hosting is a lot more common, then I'll make the change to RoR.

The reason I chose PHP is that it works for Windows hosting as well as Linux hosting.

For personal historic reasons, I stay away from Java implementations. When it first came out as a potential trend, I thought it was nothing more than a poor man's C. The attitude stuck with me so now I only use Javascript or preferably, jQuery, when I absolutely need to.

I do all my coding work in TextMate though I used to use DreamWeaver and Netbeans.

For RoR, you might want to give RubyMine a try.

Good luck!

 

[7on]

I'm just now learning some PHP and adore it! Seriously it's the bees' knees.

Mainly I just use it for include(), if(), and mail() but from a code declutter standpoint it makes updating a cinch!

 

[Cabbit]

I'm just now learning some PHP and adore it! Seriously it's the bees' knees.

Mainly I just use it for include(), if(), and mail() but from a code declutter standpoint it makes updating a cinch!

Use require_once() instead of include(). include(), require(), and include_once() i believe are no longer recommended as of 5.3.

 

[ThaGrapist]

The reason I chose PHP is that it works for Windows hosting as well as Linux hosting.

Ruby on Rails works on both Windows and *nix as well.

For personal historic reasons, I stay away from Java implementations. When it first came out as a potential trend, I thought it was nothing more than a poor man's C. The attitude stuck with me so now I only use Javascript or preferably, jQuery, when I absolutely need to.

JavaScript is a very different language from Java. The name and the curly braces are the only things they have in common. However, you're not really missing much when you pass on Java (and I would know, I'm a Java developer, among other things).

I do all my coding work in TextMate though I used to use DreamWeaver and Netbeans.

I second this. TextMate is by far the best text editor on OS X (and perhaps on any OS). Very fast and powerful, and with a much easier/faster learning curve than something like Emacs or VIM.