4 ms·

What struck me is that one of the benefits of the WP-API is that you could create a drop-in replacement for the server-side of Wordpress. Why? To move WP away f

What struck me is that one of the benefits of the WP-API is that you could create a drop-in replacement for the server-side of Wordpress. Why? To move WP away from PHP. Seriously, if the API is stable, why not just build something that matches it using a faster, cleaner language? The user gets the speed benefits, the developers get to start again from a clean(er) slate. The only hole in this idea is the shortage of cheap hosting which offers something other than PHP for dynamic websites.

snowwrestler 12y ago
As the article notes, the most likely way Wordpress will get faster on the server is HHVM. I doubt very much that the WP team has any intention of moving away from PHP anytime soon (if ever). Yes, they could start again on a clean slate of code, but they'd also have to start again on a clean slate of the community. But the community is worth way more than the code. WP-API is important so that Wordpress can continue to grow into more complex projects. Javascript front-ends are getting more popular, and if WP cannot feed data to them in a flexible and performant way, it will lose out to other content frameworks that can (for example, Drupal), or custom development of content stores.
- ZenoArrow 12y ago
  "I doubt very much that the WP team has any intention of moving away from PHP anytime soon (if ever)." You've misunderstood me. I didn't envision this move would be made by the WP team. Anyone with the prerequisite skills to build server software could do it. A new open-source project, a WP-compatible drop in replacement. Even just for environmental reasons it'd be worth it, imagine what a difference it would make if a significant portion of the world's websites switched to a more efficient solution.
rbanffy 12y ago
It'd be nice to build a WPAPI layer on top of other CMSs. Plone is my favorite one, but it's not known for speed.

snowwrestler 12y ago

As the article notes, the most likely way Wordpress will get faster on the server is HHVM. I doubt very much that the WP team has any intention of moving away from PHP anytime soon (if ever). Yes, they could start again on a clean slate of code, but they'd also have to start again on a clean slate of the community. But the community is worth way more than the code. WP-API is important so that Wordpress can continue to grow into more complex projects. Javascript front-ends are getting more popular, and if WP cannot feed data to them in a flexible and performant way, it will lose out to other content frameworks that can (for example, Drupal), or custom development of content stores.

ZenoArrow 12y ago
"I doubt very much that the WP team has any intention of moving away from PHP anytime soon (if ever)." You've misunderstood me. I didn't envision this move would be made by the WP team. Anyone with the prerequisite skills to build server software could do it. A new open-source project, a WP-compatible drop in replacement. Even just for environmental reasons it'd be worth it, imagine what a difference it would make if a significant portion of the world's websites switched to a more efficient solution.

rbanffy 12y ago

It'd be nice to build a WPAPI layer on top of other CMSs. Plone is my favorite one, but it's not known for speed.