When I first started learning
Java, I got the mistaken idea that I could use Java everywhere. After all, there is Java ME (J2ME) for micro-devices. There is Java SE (J2SE) for desktop and laptop computers, and there is Java EE (
J2EE) for big websites.
Sun advertises Java as being 'scalable'. While this is true, my assumptions about what this meant were not true.
I thought, for example, for websites, I would just do everything in Java and I could scale from small to huge sites. This assumption turned out to be flawed. First, I found that many web-hosting services don't even host Java on the server-side. Of course you can find web-hosting services that do host Java on the server-side, but they are more expensive.
Second, I found that some huge sites, such as wikipedia, use php.
It seems to me now that when Sun talks about Enterprise websites, they are not merely talking about how many simultaneous users that a website can handle. They're talking about running large organizations with diverse hardware and diverse software that is distributed.
So, of course, Java is good, but it is only one tool in a programmer's tool-box.
There are times when php is the right answer because the hosting costs are smaller.
-- Kaydell
[Please
read this]
[ March 30, 2008: Message edited by: Bear Bibeault ]