Ex C++ coder seeks young & vibrant web language for adventures and good times | Hacker News Reader

Ex C++ coder seeks young & vibrant web language for adventures and good times

2 pointsandru9 comments

My background spans a legal career, computer programming and server ops/management. Combining these fields I have an idea for a web services that I'd like to develop. My question is, what language or framework should I use?

My programming experience is mainly with C++ (Visual C++ & under linux) and scripting with BASH and perl. I recently built a website with ExpressionEngine which was good but I felt restricted (eg passing variables required odd syntax and didn't work in all cases) and hated having to edit via their back-end. I'm happy to learn a new language but want to learn the "right one" and also have reservations about starting a project while still being new to a language.

Finally, the choice is quite overwhelming (Python, PHP, Drupal, Plone, Java, GAE, ruby.. and then there's the frontend!) so I would be grateful for some pointers from some of the web hackers out there on possible languages, how to easily migrate given a mainly C++ background, and how to go about creating a new web app while still learning a language.

> I'm happy to learn a new language but want to learn the "right one" and also have reservations about starting a project while still being new to a language.

There really is no such thing as the right language, but you can find a language (and framework) that suits you well.

For me the language and framework that I work the best with is Python and Django (with jQuery for frontend).

I would recommend picking a couple of languages and frameworks and try building a small project (or even a prototype of your app) in each one. That way you'll probably figure out what works for you and if the framework is going to meet your needs.

You seem hesitant to just pick something and go for it, so this way at least you can try a few thing out before you launch into it and find out halfway through that you don't like the way things work. It might seem like it will take a bit longer this way, but buy jumping in with one language and framework it'll only be quicker if you fluke it and happen to pick something you really like.

Since you have a C++ background, you may be interested in Seaside (http://seaside.st). It's a web application framework based on a true OO language (Smalltalk). Very easy to get started, and surprisingly different than most other offerings.

The official guide takes you through the creation of several small applications (http://book.seaside.st).

Also search the web for articles and comparisons: Seaside has several immense advantages over other frameworks...

PHP, Javascript (jquery) and mysql

I like python + Tornado web server because I am a minimalist. If you want to learn how the web works from the top down & bottom up, this is a great framework to start and end with.

I'd recommend Rails 3 and jQuery. http://railstutorial.org/book is an excellent resource to learn Rails 3.

You can't go wrong with PHP and Javascript. Those two are basically universal and later on you can transition to other frameworks if the need arises.

Wouldn't it be better to use a Python or Ruby framework? That way one can use either language for writing other non-web apps? PHP is very popular on the web but Ruby and Python are used for much more. Python and Ruby both run on the JVM, for example.

Thanks all. I'll have a bash with a couple small ideas and then go from there!

i can recommend padrinorb.com, it is both young and vibrant. its pretty lightweight but still has a lot of the helpful shortcuts you find in bigger frameworks.

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