Php or Java for quick development of a prototype

Hi,

I`m a software engineer with 10 plus years of experience, I`ve been a software designer for multiple years, working mainly with Java, but I`ve also worked with C++,C#, Python and Perl.

For years I’ve flirted with the idea of starting my own business, recently I’ve had an idea that has finally convinced me to take the jump into entrepreneurship. Thing is, it’s web bases, it would be a pretty complex web application With:

· a subscriber memberships
· live audio video streaming
· Scheduled calendar events
· media galleries (video,audi)
· auction system
· e-commerce online payment.

Since most of my experience doesn’t involve web development, except for some java, jsp on tomcat, and some PHP and Joomla I used for a recreational website, my plan is to first create prototypes or a set Minimum Viable Products that I will use to test my assumptions with the help of a freelancing web designer experience in designing web application.

My dilemma is this, I have a lot more experience and I am more comfortable with Java, so initially I was planning on using java and MySQL on the server side to design and build the web application, but there seems to be a lot more experienced php freelancers out there.

Most importantly, speed and manoeuvrability are what’s most important during the implementation of the prototypes/MVP’s. From my experience of working with web CMS’s like Joomla, Dupral and Wordpress I know that they give the advantage of building a website relatively quickly due to all the plugins already available that offer a lot of the features my web application will need, non need to reinvent the weel. But these PHP CMS’s also have disadvantages, they have a lot of security vulnerabilities and offer less flexibility.

My question is this. Which route should I take??

Should I move forward with java since I have more experience with it? knowing that speed of development is of importance, would I easily be able to find a freelancer capable of helping me build the web application I need? I even notice you guys don`t have a java forum but you do have a PHP one.

Or am I better of going the PHP route? If I do chose PHP should I build my web application using a framework like codeIgniter or use a CMS? Does object oriented programming work well in PHP, does UML modelling applies with PHP?

I know its a tone of questions, any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Alex

 

I wouldn't use java applets, I see some large companies and governments use them but it is becoming more rare. I think the future in web development will be in PHP and ,even more now, javascript with things like Node.js.

As for a prototype, that is up to you. I would do a quick prototype in PHP for a c++ app as I know it would take me a lot longer with c++. However I lose the ability to use the code from my prototype if I do it with PHP.

To answer your other questions, yes object oriented programming works well with PHP but it is different, you won't have objects that are kept between pages, everything needs to be stored in a database. In PHP everything is basically a string, makes things pretty simple IMO. I know you could Google some of these questions or just Google "getting started with OOP PHP" and it should give you some sample code to look at.

 

Thank you Markus, I`ll do some reading on OOP PHP.

If I go with PHP, what about using a CMS. I had looked around and I had found some interesting Dupral plugins that I could use. Does using a CMS give me the manoeuvrability I need do what ever I want or am I going to be restricted by the CMS? am I better off using a PHP framework, or am I going to lose time because I have to reinvent the wheel?

 

Personally I love Wordpress, it has a large user base and plugins for pretty much everything, just make sure you use popular and updated plugins and read review/comments to lower your risk of getting an insecure plugin.

You could use Buddypress for a membership system and Woocommerce can be used to handle products and payments, there are addons to allow for auctions with woocommerce.

Personally I don't like drupal and Joomla but I know there are some big fans. It is a little bit like mac or windows I guess, just preference and they do differ a bit in how they are configured but the basic system is the same.

Frameworks will require a bit more work from you, usually a higher learning curve. I guess Zend is what is preferred by industry and is harder to learn IMO. Codeigniter is a bit easier and with most frameworks you will be using MVC setups.

Oh and most wordpress, drupal and Joomla stuff won't be object oriented, some will mix it a bit (like I said, PHP is pretty flexible), this does not make them any less powerful. An updated Wordpress site is very secure, I have over 10 that I maintain, close to 100 if I count clients websites.

 

Thanks again Markus,

I have one last question I would like to ask, how easy if possible at all is it to extract the business logic code from a CMS plugin, to use it in a framework with an MVC setup?

 

PHP is has a really large community and active community, if you don't know how to make a script that handles logins you can simply google it and you will find many guides on how to do it. That being said, if you find a CMS plugin that does something you can usually break this down into many smaller functions and google how to make them. Of course, if you can read PHP you can simply read the code and work out how different things were done in the plugin, there are not many plugins that are encoded. Keep in mind that some plugins are copyrighted and may have different licenses. Also make sure to read up on some security related info like this http://www.sitepoint.com/php-security-blunders/ so that you don't make the same mistakes. You should also learn to use PDO instead of the outdated and soon to be removed mysql functions.