Mission: Extinguish LAMP
LAMP is the new wonderkid, a more deadly threat to Microsoft than the touted Linux as LAMP stands for Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP/Perl/Python. So its a direct assault on Microsoft’s Windows Servers & .NET Platform as LAMP is not just an OS out of whom Windows can beat the living daylights out. Its a comprehensive package that consists of a web-server & a database with a choice of development languages(PHP/Python/Perl) & they are all FREE to obtain & use. So Microsoft looks to Extinguish LAMP, reports c|net.
So(as c|net reports), as Open Source products(contents of LAMP) are free to download, they give their first blow to Microsoft there as Microsoft’s products do require you to buy a license. So the area Microsoft will look to oust LAMP is “total acquisition costs” by proving that their products will prove to be cheaper in the longer run.
LAMP has been around for quite a number of years now but its gaining popularity rapidly because of two reasons(as I see them):-
- Its FREE to obtain & use, no licensing fees.
- Better security compared to Microsoft’s base Windows & Microsoft’s products IIS, SQL Server & .NET(this may be debatable with the presence of Mono) don’t run on any other OS.
Apart from these reasons, I don’t see any other reason as to why people & companies will favour LAMP over Microsoft. If it comes for ease of use, I don’t see anyway in which PHP or Python are more easy than .NET(VB.NET & C#.NET), Perl doesn’t come in the category of easy-to-use.
So in November this year, Visual Studio 2005 is slated to come out which will bring with it Visual Web Developer Express designed for small-scale web-development where LAMP is predominantly used. Also on the release schedule will be SQL Server 2005 with 2 low-end editions including a free Express edition(an updated version of MSDE?). The Workgroup Edition of SQL Server will include business-intelligence software for generating business reports, which is an expensive add-on otherwise. Also on the charts is a revamped Internet Information Server(IIS) which will be modular so that server admin can choose which components to run & which not, so this will be a huge performance & speed booster.
Microsoft is also working on its multiyear plan called Common Engineering Criteria which will see the creation of common tools for administering its server application line, from Windows Server to SQL Server. Having products that are engineered to work together will certainly be a big plus for Microsoft, as its something that Microsoft’s open-source competitors can’t do(not at present atleast).
It seems like Microsoft is tired of being the 2nd choice in the web-hosting market, with web-hosting companies going with LAMP as their primary choice!! 
Now all has to be seen is that how & when Microsoft delivers its first blow to LAMP, powerful enough to be noticed!! 
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PHP or Python is far better than C# or VB. Atleast to me and thousands of developers around the world.
I would prefer PHP to ASP.and Python to C# (or VB)
Well, you say that because you probably haven’t seen what C# & VB.NET are like. They are truly complied languages from whom powerful applications can be & are created for both desktop & web. PHP on the otherhand is used mainly on the web, its a scripting lanugage that’s interpreted!! I don’t know much about Python!! And I’m not saying all this because I use or favour VB.NET or C#. If you’d noticed, this blog & mine(http://blog.igeek.info/) run on LAMP(Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP). Its just a fact that you appreciate good things, & VB.NET & C# are quite good things & they are here to stay, the .NET platform is the future!!
We can go on in an endless discussion as to what is better, PHP or ASP.NET but the fact is that both are not equal. While PHP is a scripting language, ASP.NET is a framework!! So you can use PHP with ASP.NET too, some people are working on it(I don’t have a name or link at the moment). I read somewhere that a project is going on to have PHP used as a language in ASP.NET so that it can benefit from ASP.NET’s features!!
Besides, with Mono, you can now use C# on Linux as well. And C#.NET & VB.NET are not different, they both compile into same machine code, its just a matter of preferences, whether you prefer VB’s easy style or whether you are accustomed to Java or C like coding!!
Yeah. replies to these topics end in flame wars.
I prefer LAMP and you may prefer .NET
none are to be blamed or looked down by others
When did I say that? I don’t even use .NET, not currently & never have!! All I’ve used .NET is create a simple email sending script in ASP.NET using VB.NET, that’s all!!
rightly said!!
“While PHP is a scripting language, ASP.NET is a framework!! So you can use PHP with ASP.NET too”
Yeah, it’s a framework all right. It’s a framework that only works on MS hardware.
Let’s face it - if you want to know what you’re working with (and want to keep your options open on the hardware side), it’s best to work with open standards. You have no idea what’s behind that MS registry; but you definitely know what you’re working with on open source. This is important for so many reasons… much less security or interoperability.
And as long as they keep developing to open standards on LAMP, then it *is* developed to work together. That’s what open standards are all about; that’s why this stack is so popular.
But if that’s of no concern, then by all means, pay those licensing fees for those easy interfaces. Just try to remember what you’re saving again when MS forces you to upgrade because they won’t do backward compatability.
ahem, perhaps you haven’t heard about MONO
And MS hardware you said, no? I think that like Linux, Windows work on other hardware as well, be it of Dell, Sun, Compaq-HP, IBM, or any other brand.
dude, from where do you get your delusions, I don’t know, but you seem like one of those people who seem to rally about “Open Source” but don’t know its meaning. Who said “Open Source” is equivalent to FREE?? Ever bought a copy of RedHat Enterprise Server or SuSe Enterprise Server or Solaris(before it was free)? If you have, then you wouldn’t be raving about the licensing fees of Windows & other Microsoft softwares, as it happens, those are the three popular Linux/Unix server operating systems in the entreprise arena. Besides, Microsoft doesn’t force you to upgrade your licenses, you get a copy of the software and all its updates and patches/service packs etc. are free while you pay only to upgrade to next versions. And I happen to know that there are still quite a lot of servers still running Windows 2000 Server operating systems even more than 2 years after Windows 2003 Server family was released, and it just happens that those Windows 2000 servers run quite well as they are updated with Service Packs & patches regularly.
And who said that Microsoft stuff is junk?? If you don’t know, many of the big guys have Microsoft powered servers running mission-critical applications and they run quite well.
If you possibly can’t navigate in the registry then that doesn’t mean that its bad!!
And if you are gonna start about the security, then you should know that Linux/Unix systems aren’t 100% safe as well, they are also open to attacks and they also have viruses/worms for them, though not as popular as for Windows. So you gotta keep your system patched up & regularly updated, be it a Windows or a Linux box. If you are one of those who prefer “install & forget” things then you are out of luck, there’s no such thing, though currently Linux may go a bit farther down the road than Windows, but it’ll need to be upgraded as well.
So I’d whole heartedly suggest that you first understand what “Open Source” is about & then give your views on it, rather than rallying about it without truly understanding “Open Source”.