PHP for edu stuff Was Re: Stock programs, databases

[Micah Yoder <LYoder@cyberis.net>]

Justin Dossey wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 7 Dec 1998, Micah Yoder wrote:
> 
> > I guess we can work with an RDBMS now and export XML when we know
> > what we're doing.  :-)
> >
> > Wil, are you familiar with Perl CGI scripts and DB connectivity?
> > That should about cover it.  This really will be a simple program
> > (I think).
> 
> You might find that PHP/3.0 is a good idea on this one.  It requires
> that the web server know about it, but database connections and
> queries are a breeze and the syntax is a lot like perl.  The advantage
> is that forms and such are a lot easier when your code is embedded in
> the HTML (on the server side).

Yes, I use and like PHP, and it would work well for the web part of this
application.  Only potential problem is that PHP isn't standard
equipment, and some people may find installing it a hassle.

And perl would still be needed to grab the stock updates.  It would be
run as a cron job.

Other comments would be useful:  In general, should PHP be used for Web
based education apps?  Should the SEUL project consider it one of our
tools?

Pros:
  * It's easy to develop for once you spend a couple hours working with
it
  * If you compile it with Apache, it's MUCH faster than CGIs
  * It uses much less memory than mod_perl
Cons:
  * It's not Perl, and we'd be working with a different language for
different parts of the project
  * Setup might be a problem for some people
  * CGIs would be adequate for this and other types of apps.  They will
only be run a few times a day, not several times a second.