[Amorya]

I'm looking longingly at the student price for WebObjects...

Now, I confess, I don't know much about what WebObjects actually is. I run a site that is currently in PHP/MySQL, and if I had some time on my hands I might consider translating some of it to use WebObjects, for no real reason except to learn another new language/environment.

So can anyone give me a brief overview of the benefits? Would it be better than PHP for a fairly complex site?


Amorya

[bluedog]

Personally, mySql and php can do almost any functionality. WebObjects just may get you there a little sooner.

There's no substitute for a creative and well rounded programmer when it comes to creating good code.

I would think you would benefit from trying to get the MOST out of php and mysql before switching or adding something new to your arsenal.

WebObjects turns many of your scripting pieces into an object oriented lesson. You abstract your data and can use it by reference.

This type of thing you can do in php as it is.

Anyone with WebObjects programming experience care to chime in?

[rmendis]

Originally posted by Amorya:
I'm looking longingly at the student price for WebObjects...

So can anyone give me a brief overview of the benefits? Would it be better than PHP for a fairly complex site?

For $99 you get a once $75,000 package :-)

Programming in Java with the WebObjects API may well be very different from PHP and mySQL.

With WebObjects you will never really write any SQL or interface with the database directly. You will craft (an abstract) model of objects which do all the SQL stuff for you. So you may even plug in mySQL as the database for WebObjects.

There is a fairly steep learning curve and administering a WebObjects app tends to be more effort (as it really is intended for large deployments) than a PHP solution.

And, if it's your own small personal website then WebObjects is likely to be overkill :-)

But, if you have the time and inclination to learn a new platform/set of tools then yes, do take a look at WebObjects.

Oh, and i almost forgot to add, there are plenty of good books on WebObjects now. I recommend "WebObjects Developer's Guide" (SAMS, 2002) which you should find on Amazon :-)

[Arkham_c]

Another point worth mentioning is that WebObjects is a J2EE application server. If you learn to develop J2EE applications, it is a very marketable skill.

[larkost]

As a one time WebObjects Developer (hopefully I will have another go at it soon), and a PHP developer I have to say it all depends on what you are doing.

If you are developing a single page site, or one with only a few pages the PHP is the way of going. If you are develpping a complex site with a lot of dta flowing between the user and a database, and want the possibility of adding multiple access points (either differnt web sites or applications, web servers, and web services), then WebObjects quickly becomes the tool of choice.

Because it is setup to be so scaleable WebObjects has a steep first step into real applications (hello world is trivial). But once you have taken that step your application can be run on many servers simultaniously without worrying about concurancy (well... less wories).

If you get the chance to learn it. Do so, it can be a lot of fun. The only problem is that it will spoil you when you try and work with other web developing environments... they look very shabby in comparison.

PS... while WebObjects can run in a J2EE serverlate container, writting WebObject Applications is not a good preperation for J2EE except in the most abstract of sences.

[OptimusG4]

Download the free trial and see if its right for you. (note: requires free membership to the ADC)