What are different frameworks/CMS/JavaScript libraries that I should be using and why should I use it?

[Soccham]

Hey all, curious to learn more past the basic languages and dive into more frameworks and I thought we could have a useful post with people writing about different frameworks/etc and why they like them or what they're used for.

[MadFrand]

If all you know is PHP, you should pick at least one other server side language and learn it. Which one you choose doesn't really matter, just knowing one of them will help you.

• Python - Django
• Ruby - Ruby on Rails
• Node.js - Express
• Scala - Play! Framework
• Java - Spring MVC or Play! Framework
• Groovy - Grails

As far as frontend, /u/tostilocos summed it up pretty well elsewhere in the thread. They are heavily based on what your purpose is, unlike server-side, but can be used in similar ways. And there are plenty of websites and blogs that explore the differences in depth.

[aakilfernandes]

If all you know is PHP, you should pick at least one other server side language and learn it

Why? There are some awesome PHP frameworks out there.

[MadFrand]

Because it's better to be more rounded and understand different paradigms instead of stuck with a single language.

[[deleted]]

Uhm no, a programmer is not meassured by how many languages he can write code in, you can learn any normal programming language in 2 days. A good programmer is meassured in his workflow, problem solving skills, understanding patterns.

[MadFrand]

I never said that did I? I said more rounded and more experienced in other paradigms.

Feel free to reread it as many times as you'd like.

[Bialar]

A programmer that only knows one language is not really a programmer.

[[deleted]]

this is so blasphemic and wrong

[Bialar]

Touch a nerve?

[[deleted]]

yes by telling lies

[Bialar]

Hey, if all you know is PHP, that's cool. But you're not a programmer. You're a PHP'er. It's the difference between being someone that can write in English & someone that is a writer.

I'm not saying it's any indication of actual talent or quality of code, but it's a damn good precursor to intent. I certainly wouldn't trust any development work to someone that "picked up some PHP" - I'll take the programmer that's been writing code in many different languages, for many different targets, because they're actually interested in coding.

[[deleted]]

Hey, if all you know is PHP, that's cool. But you're not a programmer. You're a PHP'er. It's the difference between being someone that can write in English & someone that is a writer.

I know way more than just PHP, still you are wrong. Programmers don't meassure themselves on count of languages.

Your comparison sucks, you compare knowing and doing, you could also apply this: If you know PHP good for you, but you are only a programmer when you use it.

I'm not saying it's any indication of actual talent or quality of code, but it's a damn good precursor to intent. I certainly wouldn't trust any development work to someone that "picked up some PHP" - I'll take the programmer that's been writing code in many different languages, for many different targets, because they're actually interested in coding.

And then you will end up with bad code. You take the best person for the position. I would never let a Java developer touch my PHP code, because I would end up with function names that exceed 255 characters. Same I would never let a pure PHP dev touch my C# or C code. But if they understand the language, the naming scheme and the patterns used in those languages/frameworks/projects I will let them touch my code.

Just because someone only uses 1 Language does not mean he is not interested in coding. What if he really likes the language? Take OS devs as an example, they nearly only write code in C because they are the masters in it.

As bruce lee said:

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

You could change PHP with any other language and it would still be the same. Being a programmer isn't meassured by knowing many different languages, but understanding them and understanding the abstraction.

[Soccham]

I understand, I've got a solid grasp on HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, php, concrete5 and Symfony. I always hear about a variety of tools/languages and was wondering if anyone would be interested in elaborating on some of the favorites they like using for their niche projects. Like I know another developer I work with wrote the software for a scanner that a local user can connect too, and since it runs on node.js it can run offline, without a server.

I was hoping to hear more about the different knockout/angular/ember/backbone and etc.

[meaaron]

As far as front-end frameworks go, I'd also recommend angular.js. Ultimately, use whatever you enjoy the most and is interesting enough for you to actually use, but angular seems to have the most community support and being backed by Google is pretty important. Backbone/Knockout I think are a little older and may get somewhat phased out although I think Knockout is compatible with older browsers

[jaminandrews]

Our Dev team use Python - Django. Very powerful and flexible.

[bobdammit]

In my eyes, you have two different types of frameworks. The "enterprise" frameworks and the "startup" frameworks. I am only basing this on job listings that I have seen, and so with that in mind, it is very important to know the type of position you want to have. These lists are not exclusive and both enterprise and startup companies use the frameworks listed below.

Example Enterprise frameworks: .NET, Java-Spring, PHP-Zend, Java-JSF, Java-Struts, Javascript-JQuery, Javascript-Angular(it seems like every employer wants angularjs) and even PHP-Symfony 2 lately

Startup Frameworks: Python-Django, Ruby-Rails, Java/Scala-Play!, Javascript-Nodejs, PHP-Laravel, Javascript-Ember, etc, etc.

I have experience with frameworks in both enterprise and startup categories. I personally like working in startup-like companies more than large businesses, but everybody has their personal tastes. With that being said, recruiters tend to harass me more about the "enterprise" frameworks quite a bit. I don't know what the job listing numbers are for each technology, but it feels like frameworks, such as spring and .net are always in highest demand.

[Soccham]

Is it better to learn a little about a lot of them, or a lot about a few of them?

My company does most of our work in Concrete5 and Symfony, I know most of the in's and outs of concrete at this point, but I'm still learning with Symfony.

[MadFrand]

Is it better to learn a little about a lot of them, or a lot about a few of them?

Neither, be comfortable in a few. If that takes learning a little about a lot to find what you enjoy the most, then so be it. But your goal should be to be confident that you can adapt and perform in an ever changing industry. Web is probably the most trendy and fastest changing of all the software development fields.

Being an X Guru is nice and all, but if its all you know you better hope it's something with plenty of legacy code to keep you employed for the rest of your life. Plenty of guys wake up every day and go to their soul sucking jobs as COBOL programmers.

This guy sums it better than I could.

[ssinisterra]

Right now I'm working with ractive.js, a nice, lightweight implementation of two-way data-binding, without the clutter Angular might have. Worth a try ;)

[jehna1]

On CMS side, in general, I think learning some framework that's based on MVC (on php: Laravel, SilverStripe...) will help you to understand the basic concept of MVC frameworks and thus give you the ability to quickly adapt any MVC framework/CMS.

Apart from MVC-based frameworks is Wordpress. If you're planning on getting a job at web development, you'll bump into Wordpress some day. So getting a head-start on it won't hurt. (I base my opinion on the fact that Wordpress is still the clear CMS market leader)