Grey Fox, Listen I do not deny that PHP programmers make more money then asp.net programmers. This is what I was trying to get across. Now I am no expert in the internet, but I can tell you this. For a PHP website to be built for me cost me $700 in Zen Cart. Now the same website would have cost me more then $1500 in asp.net. I posted this from a customers viewpoint and not a programmers viewpoint. Now I do have contacts with 2 asp.net programmers, and hear from them from time to time, but for some reason either of them do any php programming and claim that asp.net programming is more stable, and is much harder to do. For me, myself, and I I would love to learn PHP and Ruby on Rails, either would be a great advancement above html and/or css. I hear that many php programmers are heading to Ruby, and for what reason I do not know. Now the problem with learning any programming I have found is that any place I have found that teaches php requires you to have a background in C+. In my opinion, in the little that I know that is like telling a carpenter, that he has to learn bricklaying before he builds a house. Hey if anyone would ask me, in which I tried to convey that PHP is much more in demand then asp.net, but again, is he looking for a job for a major corp. or is he looking to work for himself? I can tell you now that for someone that really knows PHP will be much better off, because for what I am looking to have done would take 5 minutes to have done, and I would be willing to pay the average to do it. I have been ripped off from people that claim to know PHP, but really don't so I am very careful, plus charging someone to install Zen Cart, or OS commerce, Wordpress for a few hundred dollars is a ripoff also. So I have to conclude that at least the asp.net programmers are honest, they do not use free "Open Source" programs, or even look over sites to say what they can do, with what they can't. I find that PHP programmers think they are above all the rest, and they are just programmers that get their work from somebody else that knows how to do PHP programming. Now you gave you a challenge, you show me a website that you built from the get-go with custom PHP. Not using any open source or any other paid for program is the framework. If you are a true programmer this should not be a problem. I don't expect a reply.
ASP.NET and PHP, both, are under development. Both of them are extremely powerful. But, I believe that PHP has a bigger community support than ASP.NET. Also, a couple of days back I read an article published on MailChimp's website about how PHP is considered to be a really bad programming language by the elite. The reason was not very specifically mentioned. I am a PHP developer and I find the language very cool and very easy to learn. So, I would say PHP would be a good option.
Oh, and to reply to my own comment, Facebook, and Myspace both use asp.net. You want anymore let me know.
You know the thing here is that you could argue all day and night about this. I would rather learn PHP above others also. I am someone that used DOS when I bought my first computer back in the dark ages, and I can see that PHP, may go the route of DOS also. I am sure that in the future that the web will basically turn into a complete wysiwyg format, for the simple reason is that anyone can do it. With the introduction of web 2.0 that it may come faster then any of us expect. I think security concerns of the internet will grow more than anything else. After all this is the biggest problem with the internet now, even is secure to what it is. Finding a specific coding for a website has holes and will have holes. We all just sit and wait for our sites to get hacked at the present time. We all know (or should know) that we are the pray. A good programmer can hack a website almost at their will.
@rhonie MySpace uses ColdFusion and Facebook uses custom optimized PHP (HPHP). I made too many scripts/plugins to list them here, but I made one complete CMS (http://photographywhore.com) that I use on my network of sites. I do not defend PHP programmers, I myself also work in Java/C/C++/C#/ASP.NET, I'm just saying what I think of those two languages. ASP.NET programming IS harder, I don't deny that, in fact PHP's strongest and weakest point are its ease of use, resulting in many self-proclaimed programmers, that's why many people have bad experience with them. As for Ruby on Rails, it's a great framework that can really speed up development, something like Symfony is for PHP. You use the term "open source" like it's something bad, so I don't really understand that argument. And how can you make sure that ASP.NET programmer didn't sell you an open-source application? Conclusion, there are honest and dishonest people everywhere, regardless of the language they claim to know. I'll share my experience: a programmer sold an open source application in PHP for 5.000€ to my friend's uncle. When I told him about what happened, he fired that programmer and hired me. As for website security, it's true that there are too many sites and even CMSs with vulnerabilities out there, but it's also possible to make an application without them.
I vote for PHP. PHP code runs faster than ASP. PHP programs can run on various platforms like Linux, Unix, Windows and Solaris whereas ASP is mainly associated with Windows platforms. Many of the tools used in PHP are free of cost and since PHP is open source a lot of code can be found in open source forums. PHP has inbuilt features like ftp, email from a web page or even encryption mechanisms but in ASP such features are not built in and some additional components are required. Therefore an additional cost is incurred for such components.
If you want to build a website and have it hosted on a shared server, PHP is the cheaper platform. If you care about the elegance and power of the language/platform, then ASP.NET is the better platform. Try doing polymorphism in PHP (with method overriding), then you will see which one is the "toy" language. If you want to learn something that will give you better earning power in your career, then use ASP.NET. I am a professional contractor and rates for full-time PHP contracts are inevitably lower (usually much lower).
Now if the question was PHP or Ruby, then I would say Ruby all the way - for similar reasons as .NET - Ruby is a real object-oriented language. I would like to learn and use Ruby, but Smalltalk/Seaside might win in the end If you notice my website is done in PHP/Joomla, which I really like (except for the failings of PHP) - so I'm not a PHP basher/hater.
I still think I will start learning more about Microsoft technologies because this is my main source of income! I will stay on Wordpress and continue designing WP themes but I will start learning more about application development in Visual Studio because I will need this knowledge in next few years! I will also use my current blog to write more about application development and promotion of my apps with SEO, social media etc...I think this is a good idea! What do you think?
I say PHP, it's the greatest It's funny how you posted this in the PHP forum and everyone said PHP. If it were in the ASP forum, you would probably get a different response.
Well I say play with them both, do a few basic tutorials in PHP and ASP until you decide which one your most interested in. It's really up to you.
I'd take PHP. First, the demand for PHP developers is much much more than ASP.Net Plus, you have way more plenty resources and tutorials for PHP rather than ASP.Net, and you wouldn't have a problem unfixed with PHP. Another reason is that 95% of websites and script use PHP, so you'll have more opportunities to work with and stuff. Good luck on your journey.
About the earning part - it is definitely not as simple as "PHP vs ASP" - it's all up to you and your skills. You can't just say that "X language will bring you more money", a language doesn't make a good programmer. If you are familiar with C#, I'd say go with ASP, but both PHP and ASP have their upsides and downsides. In my experience, as much as I loved C# and WPF, I stick to PHP for web stuff.
I think you should evaluate your current programming skill and learning curve. PHP is very easy to learn and really get started with. you can even handle a PHP job with about couple of weeks of PHp training.
.. Before starting any language you must learn programming concepts. This will make you good programmer other tutorials will make you coder. So learn PHP under the custody of a professional not from internet. A professional will guide you step by step. He will make you programmer. A programmer can learn every language with its own help but remember he should be programmer. PHP is very easy tool to learn. It is open source. It needs programming concepts before starting. For more details you can visit w3schools dot com but after becoming a programmer. Best Regards .. Thanks