12 August 2007
Language Choice: Java
Plain HTML would not cut it for an interactive Trumps game. Many alternate web technologies exist however, many choices. For the client the instant favorite is Flash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia_Flash) and for the server most straightforward would be PHP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Php).
I chose Java. Java is a "proper" programming language - it is object oriented, typesafe and it is backed by two massive corporations (http://java.sun.com/ and http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java). As I see in my day to day job massive corporations use Java to create complex business systems.
Skills gained in this language I believe will have more value than more lightweight languages such as PHP or "designer" oriented packages like Flash. Java is also free, unlike .Net, but very similar both in syntax and architecture (http://www.google.com/search?q=java+c%23).
The real alternate which offered itself was Ruby, or its web component, Rails (http://www.rubyonrails.org/). So many comments about this language rave about it and say how productive it is, and how it encourages you not to reinvent wheels. Both of these arguments are tempting, however for now I feel Java is more established, and for now, a better skill to learn.
I chose Java. Java is a "proper" programming language - it is object oriented, typesafe and it is backed by two massive corporations (http://java.sun.com/ and http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java). As I see in my day to day job massive corporations use Java to create complex business systems.
Skills gained in this language I believe will have more value than more lightweight languages such as PHP or "designer" oriented packages like Flash. Java is also free, unlike .Net, but very similar both in syntax and architecture (http://www.google.com/search?q=java+c%23).
The real alternate which offered itself was Ruby, or its web component, Rails (http://www.rubyonrails.org/). So many comments about this language rave about it and say how productive it is, and how it encourages you not to reinvent wheels. Both of these arguments are tempting, however for now I feel Java is more established, and for now, a better skill to learn.
Labels: .net, flash, gwt, java, php
