php vs python

[Ivan Illarionov]

On Sun, 25 May 2008 16:23:12 -0700, NC wrote:

>> I didn't say that it's not possible to write good code in PHP,
> 
> Indeed you didn't.  You did, however, say that development in Python/
> Django is inherently faster than development in PHP (your exact words
> were, "2 man/year in PHP == 2 man/week in Python/Django", implying a
> 50-fold difference).  This claim has just been obliterated using the
> example you (not I) provided; my estimate of two man-years for
> developing WordPress turns out to be fairly close to what has actually
> gone into the development of Byteflow.  In other words, so far we have
> discovered no evidence of Python's (or PHP's, to be fair) superiority in
> terms of developer's productivity.

In this case (excellent blogging tool), yes, I agree.

>> IMHO Python language is better designed
> 
> That is indeed a matter of opinion.  You like (among other things)
> immutable strings, the off-side rule, the idea that everything is an
> object, and the fine distinction between mutable lists and immutable
> tuples, and I have no problem with you liking these features, as long as
> you agree that other people may have reasons to like the alternatives
> better.

I agree. We like different things and it's good.

>> Yes, it's possible to write something clean in PHP but it would require
>> a lot more work.
> 
> In my opinion, it wouldn't, and in my experience, it doesn't.  All you
> need is to actually put a designer in charge of design.  Additionally,
> there are situations (rapid prototyping, for example) when
> maintainability (the requirement behind the "clean code") is simply not
> a concern.

It's hard to me to write good PHP. I feel happy programming in Python and 
I felt very unhappy when I had to program in PHP.  I'm glad that you have 
a different experience.

Ivan