Another old programmer

[SamHobbs]

I have been programming since high school in 1970. I have experience with many languages.

 

I know that PHP is very popular. I am not trying to criticize the language but please allow me to express my opinion. My impression is that PHP is less professional. I have no doubts that it is used professionally extensively. This is not the place to debate that, I just want to express my opinion.

 

I also think that the internet's server/client design makes internet applications more complicated than they need to be. For example, it seems unnecessary to use a different language (such as PHP) in the server than the language (such as JavaScript) in the client.

 

I want to analyze WordPress so I will learn PHP. I am learning PHP for that purpose at least.

 

I first learned Windows and Windows programming by writing a Windows Printer Device Driver. The device driver also interfaced with a SCSI (an early interface that is similar to USB) adapter to send the data to the printer. That was in the Windows 3.1 days when Windows used DOS. There was no internet to get help from, I only had Microsoft manuals to help me. I can learn stuff by reading.

[Jacques1]

Welcome to the forum.

 

If you want to learn professional PHP, then WordPress is a poor choice. It's one of the worst mainstream PHP applications out there and involves coding practices that were barely acceptable in the 90s. Professional PHP can be seen in modern frameworks like Laravel or Symfony.

 

 

 

I also think that the internet's server/client design makes internet applications more complicated than they need to be. For example, it seems unnecessary to use a different language (such as PHP) in the server than the language (such as JavaScript) in the client.

 

You can use JavaScript on the server if you want to: Node.js.

 

Personally, I'm glad that I can choose whatever language is appropriate for the job. The tasks of a server are vastly different than the tasks of a client, so the idea of a one-size-fits-all language has never made a lot of sense to me.

[SamHobbs]

I believe you that WordPress is a poor choice for learning PHP. I am not learning WordPress to learn PHP, I am learning PHP to learn WordPress.

 

Note that PHP is a combination of a language and libraries. Much of what are in the libraries are specific to what a server-side web application needs to do. In the IIS environment, ASP.Net is the libraries and C# is a general-purpose language that can be used for many things. Java and JavaScript are also general-purpose. Java can be used in things like DVD and BluRay players. C/C++ can also be used in embedded applications and many other things. The PHP language, however, has dependencies on its use for web applications, right?

Edited September 10, 2016 by SamHobbs

[Jacques1]

The PHP language, however, has dependencies on its use for web applications, right?

 

No, it's as much of a general-purpose language as the other languages you've listed (see the command-line interface for the technical details).

 

Sure, PHP is used a lot in web application, but the same applies to JavaScript (the only time I've ever seen JavaScript outside of a web context was when I had to do Photoshop scripting).

[SamHobbs]

PHP sure is not used in as much of a variety of uses as the other languages. For C/C++, Java and C# you don't need to use different languages, you can use one of them for many things. You said you like to use different languages and that implies that PHP and the other languages you use are specialized for just one use.

 

To get back to what I originally said about the internet's server/client design, I think there is no reason why the same general-purpose language can't be used for both the server and the client.

[Jacques1]

I am not learning WordPress to learn PHP, I am learning PHP to learn WordPress.

 

Nothing wrong with that. My point is that a (would-be) WordPress programmer complaining about the lack of professionalism in PHP is like somebody who joins the KKK and then complains about the lack of cultural sensitivity.

 

When you choose WordPress (for whatever reason), you are by definition in amateur hell.

 

 

 

PHP sure is not used in as much of a variety of uses as the other languages. For C/C++, Java and C# you don't need to use different languages, you can use one of them for many things. You said you like to use different languages and that implies that PHP and the other languages you use are specialized for just one use.

 

No, it means that I understand the differences between the various programming languages and when to choose one over the other.

 

Why do you bother learning PHP and WordPress when C is such a great general-purpose language? Why don't you grab a low-level FastCGI library for C and get started right away? Because there's obviously a difference between what you can do with a language and what you want to do with it.

 

I've used PHP for many different purposes like system scripts, CLI tools and warehouse management software. I've also used C and Java for many different purposes. Yet I don't think any of them is a one-size-fits-all language.

 

 

 

To get back to what I originally said about the internet's server/client design, I think there is no reason why the same general-purpose language can't be used for both the server and the client.

 

You're entitled to your opinion. As somebody who actually knows a bit about web development, I'm simply saying that you that you're wrong.