Debunking Java Myths of PHP developers
By Angsuman Chakraborty, Gaea News NetworkTuesday, April 26, 2005
After my last post on the differences between Java and PHP development practices, I saw some strange notions surface in PHP developers regarding Java. This post is an attempt to dispel some myths about Java by PHP (and other non-Java) developers. Feel free to chime in.
Myth 1: Strong Multi-threading support makes Java complicated and lack of it (actually very primitive support using ticks) makes PHP simpler.
In Java nobody forces you to use multi-threading. In JSP, which is a true cousin of PHP, much of the code is written without multi-threading.
Multi-threading is a tool, which used judiciously, can make some tasks simpler (in development) and more efficient. It also makes any UI seems more responsive to user.
With ThreadLocal multi-threading has become much simpler even for novices.
Myth 2: All Java projects follows Big-Upfront-Design
Extreme Programming is a development paradigm which professes simple design and iterative rapid development cycles (1-3 weeks). It professes against big upfront design. Interestingly XP is widely practiced by Java developers, more so then any other languages by a large margin. Many projects do follow BDUF and it is the same for any other production languages. Lack of architecture or design in anyway doesn’t confer greater strength to PHP or any other languages.
XP succeeds because of large volumes of unit and acceptance(read regression) tests to back up the rapid changes to codebase. Without such tests to back you up, anyone who thinks unplanned massive changes to codebase (read hacking) is a recipe for success is courting disaster.
Tags: Fact, JSP, Make, Php development
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July 11, 2005: 7:59 am
Christopher Thompson makes a good point - in general, the PHP community is not very interested in Java. I would say Ruby on Rails is the only thing close to a “concern” for PHP, but I don’t think many developers are too concerned about what programming language they choose anyway. The average Java developer is a 9-5 programmer, where the average PHP (or mod_perl, or Ruby on Rails) developer is a bit more passionate. There are plenty of exceptions, but this seems to be the primary reason behind the Java community’s fear - a majority of them don’t want to have to learn something new if their language becomes obsolete. To Java developers, I say don’t worry. PHP’s popularity continues to grow, but Java still has a strong presence and will continue to for at least another decade. |
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April 28, 2005: 3:05 am
@Jackson Very much so |
 Christopher Thompson |
April 27, 2005: 6:13 am
“If that is “marketing” they sure are doing a poor job at it.” It is either “a poor job at it” or nothing at all, so they seem to choose “a poor job at it”. Sort of a metaphor if you can see it. |
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April 26, 2005: 8:42 pm
> regular PHP articles from the “Java camp” I have been monitoring several Java blogs and forums for years, haven’t seen many articles actualy, which prompted me to write in the first place. > so some if the passion you be feeling is simply “marketing.” If that is “marketing” they sure are doing a poor job at it. |
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Christopher Thompson |
April 26, 2005: 3:50 pm
“Does anyone else feel that the PHP camp seems to feel more threatened by Java than vice versa?” Given the general lack of this kind of article from the “PHP camp” and the regular PHP articles from the “Java camp” I’d say vice versa. These articles creating these straw men about how the other “camp” just don’t understand us get very old. The PHP developers I know understand the many benefits and strengths of Java and think it is a excellent system. One difference you may be picking up on as “threatened” is simply a fact of open source life. Java is marketed by Sun, IBM, et al. .NET is marketed by Microsoft. Millions are spent for mindshare. Open source software is marketed by its community so some if the passion you be feeling is simply “marketing.” |
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April 26, 2005: 4:34 am
As someone who knows both languages I am going to have to agree with your sentiments. I do tend to think that the strictness of Java results in a longer development process, but maybe only because when using Java I get all OO purist and with PHP I don’t since I don’t have string objects, list objects, etc. Does anyone else feel that the PHP camp seems to feel more threatened by Java than vice versa? |
Chris