php vs python

[Erwin Moller]

Andrew Lee schreef:
> notbob wrote:
>> I'm not posting this just to initiate some religious flame war, though 
>> it's
>> the perfect subject to do so.  No, I actaully want some serious advice 
>> about
>> these two languages and since I think usenet is the best arena to find 
>> it,
>> here ya' go.
>>
>> So, here's my delimna: I want to start a blog.  Yeah, who doesn't.  
>> Yet, I
>> want learn the guts of it instead of just booting up some wordwank or
>> whatever.  I started to learn python, but heard php was easier or 
>> faster or
>> more like shell scripting or... fill in the blank.  Anyway, so I 
>> change over
>> to learning php.  Then I run across that blog, Coding Horror, and start
>> reading articles like this:
>>
>> http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001119.html
>>
>> Now what?  Go back to python.  Soldier on with php?  What do I know?  Not
>> much.  I can setup mysql and apache,, but don't know how to use 'em, 
>> really.
>> I use emacs and run slackware and can fumble my way through bash scripts,
>> but I can't really write them or do lisp.  I've taken basic basic and 
>> basic
>> C, but am barely literate in html.  Sometimes it seems overwhelming, 
>> but I
>> persevere because it's more fun/challenging than video games, which 
>> bore me
>> to tears. 
>> Well, that's my actual question, then.  Is php really so bad I'm just
>> wasting my time?  Or is it really the quickest way to blog functionality?
>> Would I be better served in the long run learning python, which claims 
>> to be
>> easy as pie to learn/program (still looks hard to me).  I admit I'm no 
>> code
>> geek.  But, I'm not completely brain dead, either, and I need 
>> something to
>> keep my geezer brain sparking.  What say ye?
>>
>> nb
> 
> Personally, I believe PHP would get you more productive more quickly for 
> a blog, but it is a potentially brain damaging language in terms of 
> really getting your juices flowing with programming.  It is not a 
> general purpose language and suffers from all the limitations of of a 
> tool designed for one job.  If you are interested in programming and the 
> blog is your path to that, stick with Python!  In particular, immerse 
> yourself in mod_python or look at a framework like Django or Pylons -- 
> the learning curve is steep for any of these technologies but they are a 
> full meal compared to saltine cracker and water of PHP.

Some statement Andrew.
Care to clarify that a little?
I don't know much Python (aside from a little in ZOPE), but I did a lot 
of Java, Perl, VB/ASP (juck), and a little C before I learned PHP.
I stopped using all in favor of PHP.

If your statement says PHP is abused a lot, yes. Because it is 
relatively easy to learn for new programmers, a lot of bad PHP coders 
exist.
But I saw them too in Java/Perl/etc.
And I am sure you can find them too coding Python.

It is perfectly possible to write clean good code in PHP.

Why do you say it 'tastes less' then Python?
I don't want to start a religious war, but am curious.
Who knows, maybe  I'll dump PHP and start using Python after your 
answer. ;-)

Regards,
Erwin Moller