I've used php for 1 year and I think it's great, but I'm trying to
improve my programming methods and find php is not sufficient for my
needs. I've played around with python and I really like its syntax,
ease of use, oo design, among other things. I've found myself doing oo
in php, trying to separate core logic from presentation logic and create
reusable code. PHP will work, but is not designed for this. Java looks
like a good solution. It is a very well structured language that has
mature solutions and a huge user-base. High quality open source
solutions such as JBOSS are inviting! Although, over the years, I've
shyed away from Java for a few reasons. 1. Slower development due to
typing variables and compiling code. 2. Not open source. I prefer to
use open source when it is available.
My opinions (and/or feelings) right now:
Python is my language of choice because of its fast development, oo
design, portability, maturity, and good user base. Now I'm looking for
a good application server. I don't like a servlet only solution. I
prefer to create xhtml documents with coded inserted in it (psp style)
so that it still looks like an xhtml document. But I only want display
logic in the psp file. What I despise is:
method 1
<?php
data logic ....
echo "<html>\r\n";
echo "<head>\r\n";
echo "<title>".$title."</title>\r\n";
echo ...
I prefer:
method 2
require('datalogic.php');
<html>
<head>
<title><?=$title?><title>
...
I use php examples because that's what I'm familiar with.
I've used method 1 for a while and this is what I see in the servlet
only approach. method 2 makes for much cleaner presentation xhtml files.
Templates. Don't like them. Why use templates when method 2 works fine
and is clean.
I'm new to servlet jargon, so please excuse me if I show my ignorance.
It looks like with webware, I can create a psp file that, when
requested, can call on a servlet, which using various classes does the
dirty work and returns the results to the psp file for display. Is this
correct? Is webware the best open source application server available
to work in this manner? I would appreciate any advice on which
direction I should take. Thanks.
Randall
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