PHP is very easy to install. mod_perl is not.

The perl dance looks like: download String::Approx, perl Makefile.PL LIB=~/lib && make && make test && make install and then any code that wants to make use of that just says use String::Approx.

Am I just not understanding PHP here or this the supposedly "easy" process? If there is a better way to manage a PHP installation I'd love to hear about it since I can see myself wanting to use PHP occassionally and it'd be good to have a maintenance process that isn't torture.

Seeking Green geeks in Minnesota

The way I understand it, I have to pick which "modules" I want PHP to use before compiling it. If I want to change those, add new modules or upgrade some then I have to do the ./configure (with scads of options); make; make test; make install dance. At least with perl if I want to upgrade or add DBD::Pg it is separate from the perl core so I'm not forced to do the equivalent of recompiling perl and mod_perl.

You are very confused. PHP offers native support for such things as imap and mysql. This is considered a *good* thing, but you have the choice of compiling php with or without such support. You don't compile PHP with "modules". PHP offers PEAR, which is similar in some respects to CPAN. You should read the FAQs on php.net.

PHP offers native support for such things as imap and mysql. This is considered a *good* thing, but you have the choice of compiling php with or without such support. You don't compile PHP with "modules". PHP offers PEAR, which is similar in some respects to CPAN. You should read the FAQs on php.net.

Yes, and that's what I'm wondering about. So if I compile PHP with a particular version of gd built in or don't include it at all, how do you upgrade that later? My inexperienced interpretation is that I'd have to recompile PHP to upgrade or add gd.

Added Oh yeah, and it's that going-back and recompiling PHP that I categorized as 'torture'.

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Seeking Green geeks in Minnesota

"PHP makes the easy things even easier." (with smiley)

...but does it make the hard things possible? Harder? Easier? If you're going to trot out the line, you don't get to pick out part of it. And I'm being a bit more critical *because* the snark is anonymous.

I'll leave other points for others to address... yours,
Michael

...but does it make the hard things possible?

Of course, not. That's why it is the most popular Apache module on the Web today.

PHP has one central website for news, documentation, downloads, etc (php.net). Perl websites are scattered all over the place: perldoc, useperl, perlfaq, etc.

Show me central website for PHP modules downloads (similar to CPAN). There is no such beast (and no, small collections of PHP libs on PEAR doesn't count).

PHP is very easy to install. mod_perl is not.

This was commented in other subthread. If you forgot to compile in support for, say MySQL, you have to recompile PHP. Well, actually there is exist a way to compile support for it separatly afterwards but I would not call it simple.

PHP is open source, but has significant corporate backing (i.e, Zend) that Perl lacks

So what? Perl can be successful without any corporate backing.

The PHP community is trying hard to make the next version of PHP a worthy contender to Java in the Enterprise world. The Perl6 community could care less.

Perl5 is already there.

PHP makes the easy things even easier.

Not it my experience though.

--
Ilya Martynov, ilya@iponweb.net
CTO IPonWEB (UK) Ltd
Quality Perl Programming and Unix Support UK managed @ offshore prices - http://www.iponweb.net
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Perl runs archive.com, Google, eToys and a bunch of other huge sites. The first anywhere nearly comparable site I've heard of switching to PHP is Yahoo, and their real work (the backend) is still all Perl.

Contender to Java? I've yet to see a single high traffic site running on serverside Java technology. And in other news, I offer Perl in the pole position.

Perl doesn't hype itself. Perl just gets the work done.

Makeshifts last the longest.

Perl runs archive.com, Google, eToys and a bunch of other huge sites.

Perl runs Google? Wow! That's news to me. Somebody ought to write something about it on Perl.com or somewhere else. I mean damn. That's big news! Last time I checked I heard that Google used a lot of C/C++, Java, and Python, but I didn't hear anything about Perl taking over. When did this happen? Are they also using mod_perl? Someone should tell the mod_perl people!

Is eToys back in business again? If I only had a nickel for each time I heard merlyn talk about the 2000 Christmas season. You guys are living in the past. At one of my Perl monger meetings, I met a guy who never touched PHP or Java, and he actually believed that Perl runs most of the Web. He was being serious. You and him should do lunch sometime.

I've yet to see a single high traffic site running on serverside Java technology.

You can't be serious. Dude, Java is very popular. Wake up and smell the coffee! What language do you think runs IBM's WebSphere Application Server? Or the US Postal Service website? Java is the language behind many high traffic websites . . .I can keep going on and on, but I have to get back to work . . .