well, as for me i think Coldfusion is better for a lot of reasons. most php fanatics will say php hostin is cheap, but you can get Coldfusion hosting of 1000mb for as low as 24$ / 3500naira per annum (http://www.ucvhost.com/cfmx_hosting.htm). here are my reason's for sayin CF wins, they are FACTS which i can prove and i stand to be corrected

- less code
- neater and cleaner presentation
- awesome integration with PDF's and SWF's
- tag based (easy to learn, if u knw html, then u are a potential cf developer)
- built in charting,
- built in XML integration ,
- built in , read n write to registry,
- execute programs and batch files on the server,
- POP mail retrieval
- session management (PHP session management uses the filesystem which is slow and lacks flexibility)

please let me knw what you think.

safe

@borrado
they say great minds think alike. i think i can now confirm that.

I came to this section basically to start a thread that compares coldfusion to php and other web development languages but you beat me to it with about 20 mins. slow me!

my opinion. coldfusion rules

Let mi start by saying i am a fan of pHP, though an ACTIVE COLDFUSION DEVELOPERS

The charm of any programming language to a novice person usually is the capabilities, n wot people are doing n can do wit it.

The all-powerful web portal 'yahoo' was built using PHP, it tink d same thing wit Google too (im not sure about ds at all n i stand 2 be corrected).

My Arguments now():
i have perused codes from both languages,
Php has a lot functions dat can allow u to do so much too, it has mail function, network functions that allows u to do things like cfhttp doz in coldfusion, functions that let u write on images(coldfusion doesnt av ds), i can go on and on, , but php is very powerful powerful summarily,
i fil php guyz are more program centric than coldfusion guyz, coz dey have 2 adapt a coding technique that forces dem to check first if something will go wrong b4 doing it(ol dz coldfusion guyz overlook n get errors dou).
php is also open-source so u can get a lot of written functions n assistance based on large followership(u no people like awof), its also much faster dan coldfusion
d only negative about php however is dat the codes are not user friendly, dis i no will be d excuse of novice n not professionals or experts who would have gotten use to d codes,


Now Coldfusssssssssssssssssssssssssssion, My love
Let mi start by saying dat ol d problems i eva ad as a developer was solved by Coldfusion
its tag based n so very easy 2 learn and debugg, tink a got d very basics in like 2 n half daz,
it encapsulates functionalities n exposes private class variables as simple attributes so u dont border about implementation u just supply parameters,
coldfusion was built on java so it leverages on its power
it has so many tags dat doz just about anything, mention it (it starts wit cf usually): cfsearch, cfdocument, cfmail, cfpop, cfchart, cfhttp, cfcollection, cfregistry, cfif, cfxml, cfftp, cfforms, cfcomponents, cfcookies, cftry, cflock, cfcatch, cftree, cfquery n dozens of very-easy-to-use functions, its just 2 much,
plus u can build applications that use event gateways: e.g SMS Applications; IM (Instant Messenger) Applications
u can create ur own tags; u can use oda people codes written in java n c++
its just beautiful, perharps one thing also wot of notice is Macromedia's great job with coldfusion's documentation, just search, get d best example n adjust d codes, u application is running,
Borrado has said a lot of things i wont like to repeat like integration with oda technologies,
u can create web n expose and webservices automatically from ur components(like functions in regular programming).
The Powerful IDE even makes things sleeker (Dreamweaver), which can generate codes for basic functionalities and has dragg n drop features,
Coldfusion however is relatively slower compaired with php, coz it converts cfml(ColdFusion markup Language) to Java first (on the fly) before it is executed,

Lets say both programs are very powerful, but coldfusion makes life easier n makes debugging (which any professional programmer will agree is a serious issue for consideration) a generation more easier,


But as for mi, im a PHP fan, n a Coldfusion Evangelist,

Let mi end by saying:
<cfthanks>Decide for ur self, </cfthanks>

Ojo Oluwaseun Samson
Coldfusion Developer, Coldfusion Evangelist,
0803 415 6073; 0807 619 5153

@iam seun

dat was one long and really nice post. i really love the coding style of coldfusion (tag based). but for those of you ot there not comfortable with your coldfusion codes looking like your html codes, allaire (now adobe, afta being macromedia) provided another scripting language called cfscript. its style is java-like. all you have to do is enclose your code within the opening and closing <cfscript> tags.

And again, to correct what iam_seun said, coldfusion compiles its source files to java bytecode just once and does not do so again unless it detects that the source has been modified. thus execution is not as slow as he almost made u guys believe.

to buttress an important point of iam_seun's, debugging is heaven! it has never been easier in any other language. many thanks macromedia!

<cfresponse type="myposition" message="i love coldfusion" smiley="" />

Taken from http://lists.evolt.org/archive/Week-of-Mon-20010702/036378.html but reflects my own views

Here are my personal opinions on this matter.

My personal favorite is PHP. PHP gives you complete control, down to line
breaks and HTTP headers, of your source code and page. You can easily spout
out HTML to the receiving browser by using an 'echo' command, or by popping
out of PHP, typing plain 'ol HTML', then go back to PHP for more processing.

Cold Fusion, however, tries to be more idiot-proof. It's very useful if you
plan to upgrade or change your database. You specify your database and its
login information in one 'administrative' area for the server, then you can
reference it easily on any page. The nice thing about this is if you change
databases, for example, from Access to Ms SQL, you hardly have to touch your
pages to get it to work! Also, Coldfusion is built on tags, similar to HTML.
You might type a tag and a couple parameters, but on the browser's source
code on the receiving end, it's changed your code into correct HTML. In some
ways, this is a big plus.

Still, I prefer PHP. I like having line-by-line control of everything the
receiving browser will see and do. It's a little more difficult, because you
have to learn syntax for various functions, while with ColdFusion, the
syntax is generally a string of tags just like HTML.

Should I even mention the cost differences? PHP is FREE, open source. While
I'm not sure the cost of Coldfusion, the cost is in the $1000's, easily
sticking ColdFusion out of the reach of the casual webmaster.

At any rate, I hope this helps. This is just my personal opinion, so feel
free to contradict me

i'll start from the bottom.

coldfusion is free for webdevelopers as long as they arent using it to host coldfusion applications for more than 2 people. i feel you get value for the money anyway even if you have to pay for a more robust license (gosh, i've forggoten the spelling!)

if you want the line by line feel, opt for cfscript.

thanks for complimenting the tag-oriented approach.

you could always do that in coldfusion too, <cfoutput> i guess that's the most used tag in coldfusion. its also used to output queries an all. and just in case you want to send data to the browser even before the page has been processed completely, you could use <cfflush>. that transmits the interpreted html to the browser up to the point where the tag is placed. you could use as many <cfflush>es on a single page as you want or even include it in a loop to probably tell you the progress of a particular operation.

i feel coldfusion is a true SOA language, cos of the numerous functions is encapsulates.

it was the first web dev language to introduce the concept of components. components can be compared to classes you write in a typical java or .net application and then initialize in the main program body. guess what, these components even support inheritance, and are reusable. components can be written using either the tagbased form, or in the javascript-like style.

web services can easily be created by changing the access type of a function to 'remote'
<cffunction name="doesUserExist" access="remote" returntype="boolean">
<cfargument name="username">
<cfargument name="password">

<!--- logic goes here --->

</cffunction>
assuming this function is inside a component called test.cfc, the webservice could be called by typing
<cfscript>
ws = CreateObject("webservice", "http://testdomain.com/components/test.cfc?WSDL");
wsresults = ws.echoString("testusername", "testpassword";
writeoutput(wsresults);
</cfscript>
really easy, you can even consume other web services so easily from your application. i guess you know that the concept of webservice is increasingly becoming popular in many applications.

coldfusion's coding style allows a lot of seemingly stupid but very useful things to be done. for instance, you could write a query in the following awkward way.
<cfquery name="rstest" datasource="testdsn">
select * from <cfif testvar eq 'mytable'> mytable <cfelse> yourtable </cfif>
</cfquery>
its like mixing a lot of things together. you may wonder why anyone should want to write such a dirty code, but there are some applications where it is the shortest possible way to get around some problems. like for instance, nesting a query within another one.

also, coldfusion supports what is known as query of queries. imagine querying tables in two different databases and then performing a join on them using another query. that's what qoq makes possible. since a query in memory is comparable to a table in a database. two queries in memory but from differnt databases is comparable to two tables in the same database. you get the point? its applications are numerous.

dont let me bother you with the sms gateway stuff and flexibility in connecting to chat services.

coldfusion, the possibilities are simply endless!

guys, another feature worth noting about Coldfusion is the fact that 75 out of the fortune 100 companies use coldfusion , in nigeria, companies like Schlumberger, Accessbank and FCMB use coldfusion, so, CF's got a lot of future in the corporate world.

Wanna go tag based?

go for prado still powered by PHP! www.pradosoft.com.


I think php is a world on it own.

they are both good. although hard core coders wouldnt consider using it

everyone knows that PHP is better off!

@kheme
that's a very vague reply. you need to support your claim. I think this thread is supposed to be educative in a way. simply saying one is better off without proving it renders your message worthless.

As prodgal has said above (and I see this a lot on the programmer and webmaster sections), comparing any proprietary language/software to an open source one is like comparing Garri and Semovita. The 2 don't mix at all

they are FACTS which i can prove and i stand to be corrected

Hmmm, borrado, how can you say they are facts yet stand to be corrected? Okay, I know it is about 630am in Atlanta and I just got into work, which means I might be seeing double, but I think I am a bit confused by your comments above. Then again, I stand to be corrected

@prodgalson and my2cents
I kinda agree with you on that point, comparing an open source project with a proprietary one. but come to think of it, why do we have a lot of comparisons done btw Microsoft Windows and Linux, btw Windows hosting and Linux hosting, btw even 'open source sturvs' and 'proprietary systems'? I think backing out of such comparisons will be like pretending racism doesnt exist.

@my2cents
Borrado probably wanted an argument, and not a correction as stated.

@boraddo
Sorry i spoke for you, anyway, if i'm wrong, i stand to be corrected!

Naijafan, again, referring to my analogy above:

At the end of the day, Garri and Semovita can both be dipped in soup, swallowed, digested and egested. They serve the same purpose but can't be compared. For one, the texture of Garri is much more coarse than that of Semovita. Also, I can put Garri in cold water; add groundnut, bournvita, nido and cabin biscuit; and have a "Conc solu" (no do make i remember sec sch days o ). One man's meat is another's poison. I personally prefer Garri sha

As far as your comments regarding borrado, I am sorry you didn't catch the sarcasm (I am known, but mostly not understood) for that

my2cents:

At the end of the day, Garri and Semovita can both be dipped in soup, swallowed, digested and egested. They serve the same purpose but can't be compared. For one, the texture of Garri is much more coarse than that of Semovita. Also, I can put Garri in cold water; add groundnut, bournvita, nido and cabin biscuit; and have a "Conc solu" (no do make i remember sec sch days o ). One man's meat is another's poison. I personally prefer Garri sha

lol! you just ended up comparing them!

as regards the boraddo wahala, how come you didnt catch my sacarsm either? didnt mean sh~t

In terms of interface(effizy) Coldfusion is better, but in terms of ease of use, easily available support and debugging tools i will choose PHP anytime. Althougn am a big fan of macromedia products - PHP is still better in developing applications that will be seamlessly available over the internet.

I've heard a lot from guys here on coldfusion but little on PHP. i happened to be reading this article on sitepoint.com that relates to the issue here, so make i share am with una:

" Perhaps the way to measure a platform's health is to look at the job market surrounding it. I've seen a smattering of reports that the ColdFusion job market has perked up recently, so let's take a look. When measured against Ruby jobs, ColdFusion looks like a solid enough choice for now.
(see attached image)
", Even if you double up the ColdFusion line on this graph, it's still only about 2/3 the size of the PHP job market, while ASP.NET and Java (not shown because it overwhelms the others) are even better choices."

If you want to read the full article, here is the link

I think both platforms are good but i prefer PHP because of (1) availabality of info resources, (2) tech trends, (3) level of control (4) it is open source etc. there is no doubt in my mind which is better.
meeeeen wey all dem PHP coders? i need your input on this!

coldfusion sucks big time

Php versus cold fusion Oh My God!!!
What Comparision?
PhP is a world leader in the realm of webserver scripting. ColdFusion is nice I know, but I think Php is superior from the following reasons.
- PhP is OSS ( Open source software). developed by the universe and maintained by pros.
- PhP is lingua franca when it comes to LAMP (Linux apache mysql and PHP).
- PHP is easy to use as transition from a previous programming languauge like c or c++ or java is easy. Just a couple of hours
- apache installers of today comes with PhP pre configured.
- Not just a script, PHP could be used as a full blown programming language

and above all PHP is entirely FREE!!!!! with Source code LIVE!!!!
PHP has a huge user base support ( tutorials, books, e-books , )
Extremly cheap PHP host, alot of em are free self!
in Short PHP na you biko?
Kennbox
Strictly Nigerian

well said, kennbox. well said.
PHP rules big time.

i working on php.

candylips:

coldfusion sucks big time

candylips:

they are both good. although hard code coders wouldnt consider using it

maybe you should think next time before you talk so as to avoid contradicting yourself.

@kennbox
- php is open source, so what?! that, i dont think, is a criteria for it to be better. we're talking features and performance here. . . not if a language is proprietary or not.
- coldfusion connects seamlessly with all database platforms. it runs on linux too. so what's the lingua franca thing all about? maybe i missed a point.
- coldfusion is also easy to use as a transition from not just any programming language, but from any markup language. a plus! or dont you think so?
- what the hell is apache's business in this?
- coldfusion is also a full blown programming language. in fact, using it for just scripting purposes makes macromedia cry u probably didnt read the previous posts of what you can do with coldfusion. at least, just read progalson's post abeg.
plus there are a lot of books on coldfusion. i think that's a plus on macromedia's side. u knw ben forta? check www.forta.com he's adobe's senoir product evangelist and has authored a lot of books on coldfusion. there's even one coldfusion: reality series, which i love reading. its as big as the dictionary you see in libraries !

let's compare their features, not the fact that one is open source and the other is proprietary. everyone knows that!

naijafan

open source *is* a feature

@darkmanzero
but not the only feature. the cf supporters have been mentioning different features. php guys have either been running cf down without a reason, or crying 'open source'. I'd hav loved a more engaging debate.

moreso, its kinda obvious that most of the guys here supporting php dont know a thing abt coldfusion, and thus, mention points that can easily be countered - like kennbox. the argument isnt really balanced as even krs1 has noted indirectly.

krs1:

I've heard a lot from guys here on coldfusion but little on PHP.

how about nuke script?

Hello there!,
I started out with ColdFussion when I got to know Macromedia products since the ColdFussion came with the bundle for free and I can say its a good one though, when I wanted to go further into web development, I wanted to learn ASP and PHP but got my hands on PHP and since then, all I can say PHP is my best scripting language. I am currently learning the other features of PHP which so many don't know about. PHP can actually be used to write WIN32 programs like C++ and the likes, but you will need PHP CLEO to be able to do that. Cold fussion is no way near PHP from my own point of few as the knowledge of PHP is helping me alot in learning C++.

I am new to this, never knew a Nigerian forum existed, I am a member of other forums, its a good thing going on here. Hands Up to the owners of NairaLand the database looks clean and the forum software is ok too.

Thanks All!
----------------------
Star Gates DevWorks
An active coding mind

I was browsing sitepoint.com site recently when i came across this piece which made me reflect on the recent topic on nairaland: PHP vs Coldfusion, so i am sending you excerpts of the piece, with the hope that the Coldfusion enthusiasts out there will start thinking of migrating to PHP:

Link to this piece on sitepoint.com: Click here
The State of ColdFusion Redux
My piece on The State of ColdFusion last issue, in which I claimed that ColdFusion as a technology was relatively stagnant when compared with its competitors, generated some very passionate responses from Tech Times readers. Here's a representative sampling, in the hopes that you can use these contrasting views make up your own mind.

From Bruce Collier:

"Just wanted to say thanks for the good write-up on the state of ColdFusion. I'll always have a soft spot for ColdFusion, as it was my introduction to web development way back in 2000. But after two years with it I made the switch to more widely supported platforms such as PHP and ASP and have never really looked back.

"I think you summed up the situation very well, and I still feel sorry for my old colleagues who are still working in ColdFusion and seeing their employment options dwindle. I totally agree that the potential benefits of CF do not justify the costs of server licenses."

From Jeramie Hendricks:

"I am so sick of people putting down ColdFusion because it costs "a pretty penny". What? Are you kidding? It's $1200 - that's it. To me and my business that's a little more than one day of a programmer's time. A mere pittance when compared to the amount of time CF saves us. Not to mention that large hosting providers such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions offer very reasonable CF shared hosting solutions - along with a plethora of smaller hosting companies. Most developers would do just fine with the free developers version and getting a shared account for the production site at $15/month. [, ]

"Look, I run a successful business, not an educational facility. I couldn't care less about what "coding enthusiasts" think about the programming flavor of the month (ex. Ruby on Rails). My goal is simple: make great Web sites that make money for me and my clients. I think many "coding enthusiasts" need to leave their ivory towers once in a while and get into the trenches.

"I love your site and newsletters, but this article quite frankly pissed me off. You are completely off base and only added fuel to the stupid, foolish and utterly meaningless ColdFusion fire."

From Willian Clardy:

"Reading your expanded commentary on the stagnancy of ColdFusion puts me in a “Yes, but…” state of mind.

"While I agree with your assessment that ColdFusion doesn’t seem to be growing in either market share or significant functionality, those metrics miss what I perceive to be ColdFusion’s real strengths: it’s simple to learn and it does the basics with boring reliability.

[, ]

"For a guy just starting an evolution from copy editor to alpha geek, ColdFusion was the ticket, and I’d still recommend it as a beginning environment to schools teaching would-be web designers for all those same reasons. [, ]

"As to where ColdFusion is heading today, I think that the truth is it’s not really going anywhere. [, ] There are a lot of sites out there built on ColdFusion which just work, serving up standard-compliant HTML the same way time after time after time, and they’re not going away. They will require occasional tweaks, but there is no clear business advantage to re-engineering them to run on the gee-whiz language of the year. There will be a steady market for ColdFusion skills to keep them running, but there will be no compelling reason to exploit new functions in ColdFusion for maintenance-mode code.

"All of which is a long-winded way of explaining my contention that ColdFusion is joining (has joined?) COBOL as yet another stable component in the flow of bits and bytes."

I also posted the story on SitePoint's Blogs, where are lots more responses for interested readers (and those who might like to weigh in with their own thoughts!).

more like comparing windows OS and Mac

PHP is the web programming language any day with me!

Guys abeg make i no cry abeg, comparing PHP with CF, na wa oh, see PHP rocks any day any time, outside being Open source, it floats some of the internet big wigs, Yahoo, Face book etc etc.

Moving to PHP from Java, C++, C# or Cblunt is straight foward, nothing like tags.
for heaven sake why should i do this <php>echo #name.</php>, na wa oh.

It has a wider community, check it. Some topshots back it, IBM etc, Talking of sleek IDE's have u noticed that NetBeans support it now, the is Zend for Eclipse
Aptana, guy abeg i dey hungry, i no fit write more.

But all in all PHP rules, check out it OOP structure, cool, watch out for PHP6 man.
Abeg no talk oh, na it they pay my bills.

ColdFusion my ass. Try JSP/JSTL and you will know whatz up.cheers