Goodmorning All,
I have this fundamental issue ad I would like to ask your honest opinions about this. I would like to become proficient in programming skills for web deployment.
As I am only vaguely familiar with HTML/PHP and not at all with Xojo, I am wondering: which learning curve will I take? HTML/PHP or Xojo?
What will bring me the more value and knowledge? Let’s be brutally honest. HTML/PHP has a HUGE user- and knowledgebase. Xojo can only hope to achieve this popularity. On the other hand - and judging by the features - Xojo looks like a more refined product (I say ‘looks’ because I am not a programmer yet and I can only judge Xojo by what its developers tell me - no disrespect intended).
Could I ask you to put yourself in my shoes and tell me the honest truth.
Should I take the HTML/PHP path and follow an already very established development environment, or should I take the Xojo learning curve and hope to become proficient enough to build stuff great enough to bring some money on the table.
Your comments and advise will be hugely appreciated.
Sunny regards from Spain,
Juan
PS: if there is someone on the Costa Blanca who can help me with Xojo, I’d jump to that opportunity.
While I don’t use Web with Xojo and do use a little PHP on my own site, I only use for very simple tasks, like populating data from an object and injecting the header and footer into every page. Meanwhile, a buddy of mine who is a very experienced PHP coder has been stuck with an issue in PHP for 3 weeks now (it’s too deep for me to offer any advice), and no-one else is able to help him either. So while there might be more PHP coders out there, there are still issues with it that no-one knows how to solve.
Besides, Xojo was designed so that you wouldn’t have to learn HTML/PHP/MYSQL/CSS/JavaScript.
Ironically, you will be most productive/effective in Xojo if you know HTML/PHP/MYSQL/JavaScript/JQuery. Learn the underlying technologies first, then take best advantage of the RAD platforms.
I’ve been watching Web Edition closely from the start, and I have been pushed toward learning PHP/JavaScript/JQuery. WE just hasn’t proven itself out yet. On the other hand, I am very grateful to RS/Xojo for opening my eyes to the potential opportunities in web app development for my client base. WE just hasn’t been the right tool for the job.
[quote=16868:@Garry Pettet]I love Xojo but I don’t enjoy using it for web apps.
In my honest opinion I would take the plunge and use PHP/HTML/CSS for a serious web app (at this time) largely for this reason.
PHP is a dream to use with a framework like Laravel for instance.[/quote]
But is @Juan de la Cumbre looking to build a web app? If he’s not but just looking to learn to program something proficiently and then take it from there then the answer is not the same. Xojo works better as a platform to develop native apps (be them in Xojo or in other languages), while PHP opens the door to scripted web apps.
Also, it’s easier to move from Xojo to PHP than from PHP to Xojo (or, from a higher-plane view, it’s easier to move from low-level, compiled languages to high-level, scripted languages and the assumptions and affordances each one gives).
Juan, the style of web app you can easily build with Xojo is a lot different than you might typically build with any of the popular PHP/AJAX frameworks. With Xojo, think about an app that feels like a desktop app running in a browser window or frame, or on a mobile device.
Development-wise, I think you’re going to make much quicker app screen and logic development progress with Xojo. Deployment can sometimes be a challenge. Your first deployment will be some effort and learning. Deployment of PHP/AJAX stuff tends to be coincident with development.
For what it is worth, I have developed web apps for my clients and they are very happy with them.
I have been programming for many years, and php comes naturally to me… having said that, AJAX does not. (May be just a mindset, admittedly).
Knowing PHP before learning Xojo is of benefit, but one of the big benefits of Xojo is the ability to build desktop applications also. I know you are talking about the web edition, but the skills you learn there can be applied to other platforms.
All in all, I would suggest giving Xojo a good play, and see if it does what you want.
Thank you very much gentlemen for sharing your thoughts on the subject.
One of you kindly suggested I’d learn the basic technologies first. Having thought that one over I consider that sound advice. The mere fact of having a power tool in your hand does not make you a carpenter - being the underlying thought.
Someone else suggested Web is a work in progress and still has to be developed into the tool it promises to be.
So I have my work cut out for me I guess. Learning basic technologies is a good investment in any case. Meanwhile I shall be keeping a close look at Xojo/Web to help me make larger strides in self-development.