经验与框架：PHP与Rails [关闭]

Question

I'm working on a new web project, and I can choose my tool of choice, and I've taken it down to two platform choices: PHP and Rails.

Now, I am not a startup, I am a professional programmer working for a large company, and they expect me to keep to deadlines, as well as be able to maintain the application, which includes scaling it when necessary, and be able to do performance tuning as needed.

My initial tool of choice is PHP, as I have 5 years working in it. I think know its ins and outs, and I am quite predictable with it (I know how long a project will take).

I can also do it in Rails. My experience is zero, but it is okay to include the time required to learn it in the project schedule.

Once again, I am a professional programmer, and I can code in C, C++, C#, Basic, Assembly, Java, Python, Lisp, SQL, PHP, and some others, so learning a new language is most likely not a difficult thing for me.

Hardcore ruby fans seem to love ruby and rails, and they claim that it is so extremely easy and elegant that by the next ruby version, the application will write itself just by thinking of it (exaggeration, hopefully). And it would be a nice thing to try it.

But I am mostly worried that even though learning the language is probably simple, learning how to do things correctly is something that takes experience.

Do you think all the benefits ruby and rails is claimed to have are so great that they overwhelm 5 years of experience in PHP?

Answer 1

Because of your 5 years of experience with PHP, I would say stick with that. You may not have trouble learning a new language, but you're most likely aware of the intricacies and 'gotchas' of PHP. Also, with PHP you can hit the ground running, versus getting up to speed with Rails.

If you do go with PHP, look at either Symfony or Zend Framework. Both are mature, robust frameworks that should handle most of the heavy lifting for you. I'm suggesting these two versus some of the other well-known frameworks (CakePHP, Code Igniter) because common consensus is that they're easier to extend which quickly becomes invaluable.

Remember that plans rarely work out exactly how you first envision them. You can reduce a lot of potential problems by sticking with a technology you already know.