Debating web development toolsets

[William O'Higgins Witteman]

On Mon, Jan 07, 2008 at 03:49:32PM -0500, Aaron Vegh wrote:

>> Python:
>
>Not familiar with this, but Python isn't exactly known for its
>suitability for web app development.

This is not actually true.  Python has an excellent pedigree as a web
language, as a basic CGI language and using using mod_python.

Additionally, there are several 1st-tier web frameworks to choose from -
Zope/Plone, Django, TurboGears, pylons, cherrypy and others.

The Python community is generally warm and welcoming and the language
itself is lovely.

>> Perl:
>
>There are a number of rabid old school fans of Perl, but it's been
>supplanted by PHP.

The demise of Perl has been greatly exaggerated, and PHP is a poor
replacement for applications of any significant complexity.  While it is
famously possible to write unreadable, unmaintainable code in Perl, in
PHP it is almost a necessity.  There are several first-rate web
frameworks in Perl, such as Catalyst and Mason.  Amazon and Slashdot
(and large chunks of the world's electronic banking) run on Perl for a
reason.

In short, if you want to go from zero to "Hello world!" in the shortest
possible time, use PHP.  If you want a great general-purpose language
that works beautifully on the web, I would recommend Python.  Good luck,
and ask for help when/if you get stuck.
-- 

yours,

William

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