Coldfusion or php?

Question

This might be like asking which sport is the most popular
while standing outside the superbowl, but I am trying to decide
between CF and PHP for dynamic websites. I use DW8 and would like
to try dynamic sites. I know nothing about programming but would
like to learn one of the two. I know that PHP has a bigger
following and CF is easier to learn (so I've read).
Comments?

Answer 1

??One of its chief marketing points is
"Look! It's all tags! It's as easy to use as HTML!". They're
not hunting
the seasoned developer with an approach like that, are they?
I will add to that by saying that seasoned developers would
never be lulled
into thinking cf's percieved advntages outweighed it's
disadvantages - but
the newbies would fall for the idea that "html is easy, html
uses tags = cf
uses tags, it must be as easy as html"
A couple of years back i tried to read a file with cffile,
but needed to do
it one line at a time - I was shocked to learn that something
so basic could
not be done in cfml. The second thing we did (old company)
was fall for the
"out of the box" thing to find that we had absolutely no
drawing api
(drawing tags). I had sold the cf ideato my boss who later
researched and
found out that both these thing could be doen in php adn that
php was free
of charge and already installed on one of the servers!!
Luckily, work around
weere easy to find, but still, I definitely experienced the
issue of cf's
limitations.
I feel I should add to that by pointing out that these days
it seems that
the official response seems to be "if it can't be done in
cfml just use
java" - this flys in the face of the whole reason people buy
cf in the first
place.
>>I don't think it's going to fall off the map any time
soon
No, theres still plenty of newbs out there and still plenty
of folk that
depend on it for existing websites. I am dissapointed to see
the rather mass
exodus from cf to the java.php and .net world but i think cf
can still do
okay in the market it aims for.
"Adam Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> Why say this - is it more to do with the
inflexibility or to do with
>> there
>> being less demand for cf skills there days?
>
> I've been fortunate enough to not have to look for work
in CF: both the
> jobs I've had so far came to me, rather than the other
way around. And I
> know if I needed work again, my network is of sufficient
size that I could
> get a job tomorrow if I needed one. So it's not the
availability of work,
> no. I've never considered that.
>
> My findings with CF are probably best summed up by
drawing a parallel to
> common arguments regarding <cfinsert> /
<cfupdate> and <cfquery>. ie:
> <cfinsert> and <cfupdate> are OK as long as
you hold your mouth the right
> way and only ever want to do exactly what those tags are
set out to do.
> On
> the other hand <cfquery> gives you a lot more
scope beyond what those tags
> offer.
>
> I've used <cfinsert> and <cfupdate>
precisely ONCE, before I spotted the
> draw backs of having to code in the way Allaire
second-guessed I should be
> coding; and actually the gains in using <cfquery>
instead deeply outweigh
> the increased typing time (which is all it amounts to).
>
> I feel the same way about CF as a whole. CF is one big
<cfinsert>.
>
>
>> Personally, I am fed up hearing of its demise and
hearing from the
>> "professional" developers about how cf is a "toy"
language for newbies.
>> Arrgggghhhh!
>
> I don't think it's going to fall off the map any time
soon, but I also
> *do*
> think its niche is the newbie market. One of its chief
marketing points
> is
> "Look! It's all tags! It's as easy to use as HTML!".
They're not hunting
> the seasoned developer with an approach like that, are
they?
>
> --
> Adam