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Arda Başaran
8,702 PointsWhich Track to Follow?
Hello, I have been working on Web Design track for a while. I think I got the basics about HTML and CSS (still have a lot to learn though). Since I am a beginner I couldn't decide what should I be working on next.
Let me explain what I have in my mind. I want to build a website that requires user authentication, plus users will input some information and the website will be pairing them according to the input.
There are tracks about PHP, Javascript and Rails but I am not sure which one to take. I started with PHP and learned some basic things, but before going any further I wanted to ask if I should go with PHP or change my track to something else.
Thanks in advance,
1 Answer
William Li
Courses Plus Student 26,868 PointsPHP track is the right choice for you. Alternatively, Rails Track and Flask Track will also teach the skills you needed to
build a website that requires user authentication, plus users will input some information and the website will be pairing them according to the input.
Among PHP, Rails, Flask, no one is superior than the others; they are just different tools for doing the same thing -- building the backend of a website. They all have huge supporting communities. Often it's just a matter of personal preference when it comes to picking a backend language/framework.
Arda Başaran
8,702 PointsArda Başaran
8,702 PointsThank you, I've one follow up question. Before getting started in web developing I was working on C++ and Python. I think Flask is web development with Python, so it might be easier for me to work with that. However I hear more about PHP -a lot more actually- than Flask. Is PHP more capable or would Flusk be enough what I have in my mind? Considering that I am planning to learn both in the future, do you recommend me to go with PHP or Flask at first?
William Li
Courses Plus Student 26,868 PointsWilliam Li
Courses Plus Student 26,868 PointsWell, that changes thing a bit. If you are already familiar with Python, it's definitely easier to pickup Flask, because everything about Flask is Python code.
PHP has been around for a long time, much longer than Rails or Flask, and it's still enjoying significant presence on the web, thanks to the extremely popular WordPress & Laravel framework.
No, Rails & Flask are both very mature web framework, with vibrant communities of developers constantly improving/patching, and writing plugins for them.
Consider that you already knew Python, Flask is obviously the better choice out of the two; besides, I don't think anyone is going to argue that Python is a much more well-designed language than PHP.
At the end of the day, whichever language/track you go for shouldn't be matter much. The important thing is that you pick one, and use it as vehicle to learn the general concepts of web development, such as how to access database, authenticate user login, security, performance, how to do caching ... etc. These knowledge are always important to you for as long as you're a web developer, and having a firm grasp of them makes switching to a new framework trivial.
Arda Başaran
8,702 PointsArda Başaran
8,702 PointsOkay, I think I will start with Flask. Thanks again for the answer.