Ben Ramsey

So, I’m not the only one who’s noticed an increase in interest here. Harry Fuecks mentioned in his weblog yesterday that many ASP 3.0 developers are moving to PHP because of ASP.NET. I’m one of them, though I made the complete switch over a year ago.

I had been using PHP somewhat side-by-side with ASP; it just depended on where the application was being hosted. However, as I saw ASP.NET and all the other .NET technologies become more and more the primary focus of Microsoft, I decided to check it out by installing an “educational” copy of Visual Sudio.NET. I was flabbergasted. The program was so bloated and everything so foreign and different from the ASP I knew (VB Script), that I couldn’t deal with it. I had to learn something entirely new to keep up with the pace of development. It wasn’t worth it.

On the other hand, I had to learn something new when I switched to PHP, but it seemed familiar, somewhat inviting. The structure was similar to JavaScript, something with which I was very familiar, and the language had a great community base and excellent on-line documentation. I was warmly welcomed in rather than shut out in the cold.

I invite other ASP 3.0 developers who have been orphaned by Microsoft in the wake of ASP.NET to do the same. Make the switch to PHP; you’ll be glad you did.