Re:PHP: A fractal of bad design
by acdha on Tuesday April 10, 2012 @08:41PM
(#3825308)
Start as J. Random Noob: they need to install python, virtualenv, etc. before learning how to create a module, create multiple config files and so forth.
Technically PHP isn't much easier if you need to compile it, configure Apache, etc. but in practice they just pay $1/mo for a crappy hosted account where they simply upload a file and start fiddling.
This is a trivial distinction for a professional developer but there are quite a few PHP users who started with a personal homepage and grew from there – and despite the stereotype, they're not all designers, either. That's why I like the Rails.app idea: give today's bright 13-year-old a nice, easy path to getting something visible and let them get hooked before they need to learn all of this other stuff.
Technically PHP isn't much easier if you need to compile it, configure Apache, etc. but in practice they just pay $1/mo for a crappy hosted account where they simply upload a file and start fiddling.
This is a trivial distinction for a professional developer but there are quite a few PHP users who started with a personal homepage and grew from there – and despite the stereotype, they're not all designers, either. That's why I like the Rails.app idea: give today's bright 13-year-old a nice, easy path to getting something visible and let them get hooked before they need to learn all of this other stuff.