Best Budget SOA Web Application Platform For Mac + Linux + Windows?

Question

I am a Windows guy with an ASP.NET background but I have a hosted Linux server (dedicated) on the Internet, and meanwhile I'm spending more and more time on my Mac. I want to start doing web app and web service (iPhone-to-Internet services) development on the Mac, as well as some server development on my Windows laptop, and then deploy on Linux. I'm considering PHP, Ruby on Rails, Java, Jaxer, Mono XSP, and will consider others.

I'm thinking Java is [WAY] too bloated, PHP is fundamentlaly no better than ASP Classic w/ JScript, Jaxer is too young, Mono XSP isn't stable, and RoR lacks scalability and sufficient tools suport but could be wrong, and in fact I'm leanding towards RoR at this point.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

If you haven't tried to scale a Rails site yourself, then I'd avoid putting a lot of stock in the "Rails doesn't scale" arguments. There are plenty of large Rails installs out there that aren't called twitter.com and have scaled without issue. Scribd.com is a commonly cited example.

All you can do is give Rails a go and see if it suits your needs.

Answer 2

Have a look at Python and Turbo Gears

Answer 3

@brokenpoet, browsing around (and otherwise knowing close to nothing), it appears that Django beats TurboGears in the popularity contest. (??)

Answer 4

Interestingly, Python performs well. (I'm not interested in Perl or C++.)

http://izumi.plan99.net/blog/index.php/2008/01/17/ruby-vs-php-performance/

Answer 5

Perl with Catalyst, TT and DBIx::Class is incredibly flexible, fast and stable. In my experience most web requirements are catered for with plugins so you can concentrate on the problem domain. Also runs fine on those platforms as far as know.

Rails is also an awesome prototyping tool although I consider active record an ORM with a very small 'R'. Also consider this if you are intending to thread with Ruby.

Answer 6

I got into the RoR hype for a while, and I loved a lot of the methodology, but it just moves too fast for me to keep up with. Also, RoR and python solutions will be a stretch if you aren't familiar with Object Oriented Programming.

I do a lot of work in PHP, and it's a love/hate relationship. I'd love it if Ruby was as wide-spread as php - as a language, it is the best. But PHP has proven to be a steady and dependable workhorse. If you do go with PHP, be sure to utilize some framework options - the Zend framework, or something with Smarty templates... just be sure to set up a sane base for your application, MVC, etc...

Other tools to consider - Textmate is one of the best text editors I've used - I'm sure you've come across it if you've been in any mac communities. Also, learn to use git for source control. It may seem cryptic for a while, but once you master it, it can do miracles.