Hi All,

One open-source product that deserves a mention in this discussion is PHP.
I've just developed a site for a client using PHP (front-end), Perl (batch
stuff) on Linux/Apache with MySQL. It was a joy to work with and is packed
with features and extensions and is easy to learn for someone with a perl
background. It has classes (OO), support for most major RDBMS and is
commercially robust and seems to be extremely fast (well version 4 anyway).

For those interested.. http://www.php.net

I, for one would like to see PHP ported to MPE/Posix but am not sure of the
issues around this, being a non-C programmer.

Cheers.

Mark Wilkinson.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: COLE,GLENN (Non-HP-SantaClara,ex2)
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 14 September 2000 20:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Trends in Java vs. Python, PHP, Cold Fusion et. al . (was
> Apache vs. Cold Fusion)
>
>
> Cortlandt writes:
>
> > I propose for your consideration and feedback that Java makes much
> > more sense today than it did just two year ago.
>
> I'll accept that, based mostly on its relatively rapid maturity.
>
> > One advantage to Java, IMO, over these other languages is it's
> > generality.   It can be used for a number of task including server
> > side programming, client side programming, and general apps.   So
> > instead of having to learn several languages a programmer
> need only be
> > proficient in one -- Java.
>
> I'm not entirely convinced that Java has this where others do not.
> Personally, I've become a huge fan of Perl, though I make no claim
> to being an expert Perl programmer (whatever that is).
>
> Perl even allows a platform-independent GUI (through Perl/Tk),
> though I've not tried this.
>
> Interestingly, part of Perl's power is what I heard described
> for Java a couple years ago:  the readily-available modules which
> perform a specific task (like Base64 encoding).
>
> Others find Python best suited for rapid prototyping.  I've not
> spent much time with this, but I know that Bruce Eckel (author
> of Thinking In Java) is a strong proponent of this.  I know also
> that he is not particularly fond of Perl (though I've forgotten why).
>
> Bottom line:  Some "modern" language -- be it Perl, Python, Java,
>               or ? -- seems imperative for programmer productivity
> today.  But personally I'm not convinced there ever will be just one
> language that's "good enough" to know, with disregard for all others.
>
> --Glenn
>