Browsing the del.icio.us pragramming tags earlier today I came across an interesting review of some of the major PHP frameworks floating around at the moment. It should be noted though that there seems to have been some unfair omissions of CakePHP’s features in the accompanying chart and review.
Archive for March, 2006
PHP Frameworks Review
March 29th, 2006Sun’s Gosling on Ruby and PHP
March 15th, 2006I spotted a recent article while on the Riding Ruby blog in which James Gosling of Sun – aka: “Father of Java” made extensive comment regarding Java’s placing with Ruby, PHP and other platforms.
“PHP and Ruby are perfectly fine systems, but they are scripting languages and get their power through specialization: they just generate web pages. But none of them attempt any serious breadth in the application domain and they both have really serious scaling and performance problems.”
Scaling and performance problems have been shown to be null and void when Friendster switched from a Java platform to a PHP platform and had a noticeable speed improvement – Friendster is no shrinking violet, once boasting the largest social network on the web.
Scripting Languages?
That comment jars a little as its a far out dated term normally reserved for cheap pot-shots. I’ve had numerous discussions with Java advocates in which Ruby, Python and any other dynamically typed language has been dismissed as a meer scripting language. It doesn’t look like I’m the only one either as Ryan Tomayko at Lesscode.org seems to have paid comment to Goslings post in quite some depth and I recommend a read!
UPDATE: The Artima Developer forums have a thread sicussing this topic available here.
RubyCorner
March 13th, 2006A blogging and discussion corner has been set up for Ruby fanatics everywhere. You can register to begin adding your favourite Ruby blog or regularly updated Ruby content straight-away. Think Digg for Ruby.
Current examples include:
- A Ruby & Rails blog set up by two .Net guys – be interesting to see their perspective.
- Blogfish has quite a diverse selection aswell as Ruby & Rails he chats about BSD, security and agile development in general.
- Rubuntu – I wouldn’t have found this little gem if it wasn’t for RubyCorner. Looks like this blogger is in the process of developing a Ubuntu LiveCD with full Ruby and Rails support!!
I’d add my site but unfortnately I don’t think I’m updating often enough at the moment and certainly not regular enough of Rails.
37 Signals Release Essays as Ebook
March 6th, 2006The team over at 37Signals recently started offering 91 essays across 171 pages of an ebook on web app software development at the respectable price of $19.
Getting Real details the business, design, programming, and marketing principles of 37signals. The book is packed with keep-it-simple insights, contrarian points of view, and unconventional approaches to software design. This is not a technical book or a design tutorial, it’s a book of ideas.
If you’re a Rails advocate, Pragmatic Programmer or just interested in expanding your knowledge by hearing the opinions of the successful then you can grab 4 free essays and consider the purchase of the other 91 by visiting their Getting Real book site.
Although don’t expect these to turn you into the next 37Singals. All those who’ve tried to copy have met with derision. You’d best come up with an original idea on top of that knowledge. 
