Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#21

Post by juliend2 » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:25 PM UTC

j_baker wrote: post #14

Look for webfaction as a hosting provider. It's cheap and you have lots more options than just PHP. Plus you get shell access. You can even set up your own apache instance. Other than that, don't worry too much about the language. Find something you like and stick to it. Just remember to always learn new things and don't get set in your ways.

Just remember to always learn new things and don't get set in your ways

I Totally Agree. This is the other reason why i want to change the language in which i code for my day to day jobs. Learning new things.

I read a lot about functional programming and other cool stuff on HN but in my work i'm mostly stuck with PHP... This must change.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#22

Post by keefe » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:28 PM UTC

Java! I may be in the distinct minority here and particularly prejudiced since I started with Java in 98.... Java has the best IDE (eclipse), a slew of open source libraries, Groovy if you have it up for dynamic language syntax and with JIT etc. innovations it's pretty much as fast as C++. I think Java is the perfect OOP trapped inside some slightly ugly, easy to compensate for syntax. Also, easy to deploy dynamic apps with Tomcat, great user community, stable API...

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#23

Post by keefe » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:30 PM UTC

vyrotek wrote: post #2

Asp.net MVC

What is the motivation for locking yourself into the micro$oft stack? Why not use Java with a javascript (jquery/yui/ext etc) front end or even (shudder) JSPs? Spring framework? Anything but .net lock in...

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#24

Post by wooby » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:32 PM UTC

If you're comfortable with Linux, an option for you is running a Linode or Slicehost ($20/month) and hosting your clients on it. This will give you total control of the hosting environment, and a residual income. You'll have plenty of horsepower for Rails or whatever else you want to use, and as you grow, you can buy more nodes.

Beware, though: when you put on a system administration hat you're taking on a lot of new responsibilities, including backups and security. It's also a good idea to bring your friends in on it, so if something goes wrong they can look into it for your client if you're away.

So, it really depends on your level of comfort with sys admin stuff, and the kind of relationship you have with your clients. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#25

Post by octane » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:39 PM UTC

Become a real solutions provider and lease a colocated server and move your clients to it by offering them competitive pricing. You might even make a profit.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#26

Post by juliend2 » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 6:42 PM UTC

wooby wrote: post #24

If you're comfortable with Linux, an option for you is running a Linode or Slicehost ($20/month) and hosting your clients on it. This will give you total control of the hosting environment, and a residual income. You'll have plenty of horsepower for Rails or whatever else you want to use, and as you grow, you can buy more nodes. Beware, though: when you put on a system administration hat you're taking on a lot of new…

Yes, this is something i thought about also. It can be good when they dont already have their own server already set up with their email, etc. I have tried both slicehost and linode. Its nice to have such control when its possible.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#27

Post by ropiku » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 7:02 PM UTC

http://heroku.com isn't that expensive and it's easy to scale as needed.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#28

Post by Skeuomorph » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 7:05 PM UTC

mannicken wrote: post #7

Is Ruby hosting that expensive? I've seen hosters that do it under five bucks a month (like http://www.hostingrails.com/ ).

http://railsplayground.com/

Developer hosting from $5/month. Much better uptime than others in this price range. Have had some small sites with them for several years.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#29

Post by juliend2 » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 7:07 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #20

"What do you do when you can't stand PHP anymore?" Reevaluate what's really important to you. I love to program, but it's NEVER about the language. I know many of them, and AFAIC they all have their pros and cons. I suppose that if I was a "language-snob", I'd be "immensely bored" too, no matter which language I was using. So if it's not about the language, then what is it about? You already answered your own questio…

What do you mean by being "solution-snob"? Looking for the appropriate tool(language) for the given task? Thanks in advance.

Re: Ask HN: I can't stand PHP anymore. What else can I choose?

#30

Post by tptacek » Sat, Apr 25, 2009, 7:12 PM UTC

juliend2 wrote: post #29

edw519 wrote: post #20

"What do you do when you can't stand PHP anymore?" Reevaluate what's really important to you. I love to program, but it's NEVER about the language. I know many of them, and AFAIC they all have their pros and cons. I suppose that if I was a "language-snob", I'd be "immensely bored" too, no matter which language I was using. So if it's not about the language, then what is it about? You already answered your own questio…

What do you mean by being "solution-snob"? Looking for the appropriate tool(language) for the given task? Thanks in advance.

I'm guessing no, that instead he means thinking more about what you're going to write than about what you're going to write it in.