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All of the languages you listed have a way steeper learning curve than PHP. PHP creates a lot of really small steps you can take getting from "I roughly underst

All of the languages you listed have a way steeper learning curve than PHP. PHP creates a lot of really small steps you can take getting from "I roughly understand HTML" to "I can build a full 3-tier MVC buzzword-of-the-day app.". For anyone not intending to become a full-fledged programmer, but instead just to add a little bit of interactivity/dynamism to their website, it's still the path of least resistance.

guitarbill 10y ago
I'd argue that Javascript (sans all the frameworks and bullshit) will also get you there quicker, because of the intrinsic DOM connection. But yes, backend JS sucks. I also made a start with PHP. Still, PHP has been slow to learn from other languages and frustratingly refused to change established behaviour. I found PHP to be far more "dangerous" for the amateur programmer than other languages. Finally, I switched and never looked back. From teaching beginners, I actually think Python + Flask has a similarly shallow learning curve, but more room to grow and to "do it correctly" (e.g. the templating is much cleaner and the routing much more powerful). I recommend it.
- spronkey 10y ago
  echo "<h1>hello</h1>" vs... damn, how do you even print a line in Javascript (Node, to be fair)? console.log()? Wait no, that prints to a terminal. Response.write? Oh, wait, I have to implement the http.createServer callback? Yeah ok, oh and it's ... response.print? No, no it's response.write. Oh what it's not working? Oh I need response.end() as well. Hopefully you get the point. (I do agree that PHP without something like Symfony, Yii, ... Laravel, even Cake could be very dangerous, or at least, counter-productive for amateurs trying to learn though)