Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: [PHP-CVS] cvs: php4 / TODO From: Jim Jagielski (jim <email protected>)
Date: 10/12/00

Here are my own personal comments, directed to no one in general
and certainly in response to nothing in general :) :)

There is that unfortunate mindset, that's repeated often: that
PHP is only good for small and medium sites. PHP, and Java and JSP
and just about anything you can think of, are tools, designed to
do something, and do it well. Are there shortcoming in PHP? Sure.
But I tend to believe that there are more in Java. The fact that
a saw can cut, but a hammer can't, doesn't make the hammer a
worthless tool ;)

Is the object model what's really required? No, not really. But PHP 4
was designed to not break compatibility with PHP 3. I don't think
anyone is incredibly happy with it. But PHP isn't designed to BE
an object oriented language.

There are very few things intrinsic to Java/JSP that make it "better"
suited to large, complex sites. One here's that it's "impossible
to separate the business logic from the display logic" a lot. But
what is it specifically, for example, in JSP that _does_ allow it?
For real separation, it shouldn't matter _at all_ what is being used
for either implementation. If it does, then the whole idea of separation
is bogus.

Not to say that PHP shouldn't continue to grow and evolve. There should
be an abstraction that PHP isn't so server-resident. Better Java
interoperability is good. Taking some clues from the transaction
nature of Java application servers is wise as well.

But saying PHP != Java and therefore for PHP to succeed, it must become
more Java-like... well, I think that's foolish and will end up
with PHP being a cheap Java clone. Heck, it's not like Java is
perfectly suited to what it's being assigned to do, either from
an application or design standpoint, although certainly resources are
now being put in that directly. So Yes to growing PHP! But No to making it
Java: "... And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left
the path of wisdom" :) :) 

-- 
Jim Jagielski  << jim <email protected> >>  |  http://www.jaguNET.com/
    j a g u N E T   A c c e s s   S e r v i c e s,   L L C
          Voice: 410-420-0140      FAX: 410-803-2258
       "Ah! I see you have the machine that goes Bing!"

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