Since the release of PHP5 a lot of interest has reverberated down through the whole PHP community. In particular, there’s a call for a PHP-GTK 2.0 which will utilize GTK2 and will have an entire rewrite of it from the ground up to make use of new features.
PHP 5 Release Sparks Up PHP-GTK 2.0
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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16 Comments
let’s face it, php is web language, not more.
Maybe. On the other hand, using PHP with a toolkit like GTK+ lets your users choose between different client implementations. Together with the easy access to database abstraction layers, this seems a nice feature.
For an implementation, see http://www.agata.org.br/
A sort of rapid development tool with interesting screenshots can be found at http://www.ippfp.org/
The only thing that makes PHP a web-specific language is that it has a few scattered functions that are web-specific, such as htmlentities(), etc… Other than that it is simply a scripting language. The output is simply output, and the fact that it can be tied into webserver output doesn’t make it a requirement. While you can argue all you want about whether it is a good scripting language, it is definitely not web-only, nor is there any reason to whine about why it isn’t “staying in it’s place”.
Gee… Why would someone need Python, when you’ve got Perl? Why would someone need C++ when you’ve got C? Why would you need C# when you’ve got Java?
Hell! Why would anyone need any other computer language when you’ve got MACHINE CODE!!!! Quick, tell me what this program does:
ELF
$
,
0
The more developers we have learning GUI toolkits the better–period. GTK and PHP are both great to learn from. If we end up with decent programs in the process, then more power to them.
doesnt it have gtk1 support? why in the world would you ever want gtk2? i like my apps being responsive, thank you very much. then again, i dont code gui’s in php either, but thats neither here not there.
(half satire)
Sounds interesting, however, what people forget is this; php competes with ASP.NET and if the php team can create a richer development environment, I say go for it, especially if it means that ASP.NET is relegated as nothing more than a freaky side show for the click-n-droll desk jockies.
How could someone possible prefer perl over php??
I have (unfortunatly) _extensive_ experience of writing applications using both perl and php (you do know php has it’s roots in perl, don’t you?). I’ll take php (especially php5) over perl any day for the simple reason that other people can read your code. Sure, you can write readable perl code, but then people start complaining that “it’s not perlie enough”.
Anyway, the more hours I pour into php the more certain I become that it is an unhealthy language. To be more precise – the total disregard of typechecking is BAD. It’s hillarious to see some of the problems people run into just because there is no typechecking. While it certainly is usefull to have mixed types it also is BAD to not have the ability to have strict types; especially with the sheer amount of php coders out there who really should stick to their spreadsheet…
How could someone possible prefer perl over php??
…someone who needs powerful regexp feature + data manipulation w/o bunch of functions& subroutines. And someone who don’t want to be limited by “JUST ONE WAY TO DO IT DAMN YOU” (like me, hehehe)
I’ll take php (especially php5) over perl any day for the simple reason that other people can read your code. Sure, you can write readable perl code, but then people start complaining that “it’s not perlie enough”.
Hmmm….then why don’t you use python? It is far easier to read even than php…if you do care about readability?
Anyway, TIMTOWTDY (IMO) is more the strength of PERL language than weakness…if there’s only one way to do it, then the life will be so BOOOORING :3
IMHO, php look ugly in its html-embedded form…it’s not a document, and it’s not a program…and to me, that’s BAD. (That’s why I prefer using mod-perl instead of mod-php!!!)
Anyway, the more hours I pour into php the more certain I become that it is an unhealthy language. To be more precise – the total disregard of typechecking is BAD. It’s hillarious to see some of the problems people run into just because there is no typechecking. While it certainly is usefull to have mixed types it also is BAD to not have the ability to have strict types; especially with the sheer amount of php coders out there who really should stick to their spreadsheet…
Hmm…I think that’s the limit of the nature of php lang…it was initialy intended to be a “tool to aid web programming,” and nothing more….until today.
Now I hate PHP…because it conflicts with XML’s <?xml?> declaration tag.
Yeah, you can turn off short-hand notation (<? ?>) but majority of php applets out there uses short hand notation….I’m so sick of editing <? ?> into <?php…!!!!
IMHO, php look ugly in its html-embedded form…it’s not a document, and it’s not a program…and to me, that’s BAD. (That’s why I prefer using mod-perl instead of mod-php!!!)
It all depends on how you look upon the language. You might only see the use for PHP as a web scripting tool. I see the use for PHP in many ways, but of course the web part recieves the most attention. If the possibility is there to do something different with a language, why not take it? Especially if the person likes to code in the specific language.
I myself code everything so that it is not web dependent. All of my PHP libraries have no idea that the outcome of the script is ended in a browser or in a terminal or even a GUI like GTK. With the use of good practice patterns like MVC you can make the libraries (Models) unaware of what it is that executes the script and where the output is heading.
In short: Surely it’s a common practice to write your PHP code in HTML embedded form, but it is absolutely not an requirement. And there’s the strength in PHP that many people seem to miss.
…someone who needs powerful regexp feature + data manipulation w/o bunch of functions& subroutines.
php has support for perl regexps. Yes, you do need to call them from a function – you need to type more, but its far more readable.
Hmmm….then why don’t you use python? It is far easier to read even than php…if you do care about readability?
I do use python – if I have to. I use php and perl at work bacause the projects I’m working on use php and/or perl.
I really prefer languages like java/c#/pike and functional languages like SML/OCAML/Haskell.
IMHO, php look ugly in its html-embedded form…it’s not a document, and it’s not a program…and to me, that’s BAD. (That’s why I prefer using mod-perl instead of mod-php!!!)
That’s simply a matter of style.
All code I write in php starts with <?php and ends with ?>, that’s all the xml/html there is. All html is generated or tucked away behind smarty (a type of php template).
As you probably noticed, I’m no fan of php. But compared to perl it’s a pleasure.
when you have perl and python? let’s face it, php is web language, not more.
when you have perl and python? let’s face it, php is web language, not more.
this person thinks “THEY’RE TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!”
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/7/14/232752/474“