Python / Django

[Chris Newell]

Hello my favorite and fellow geeks.

I am a front end web designer with mad skills in HTML/CSS.

I want to take a deep dive into a good web development language and was pointed towards python and specifically the Django framework.

I do not have any real object oriented coding experience under my belt.

If Jesus himself asked you to build heavens new web application, what would you code it in and why.

Thanks!
-Chris

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[Jim Bob Howard]

JavaScript and jQuery.

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[Luis Torres]

I'd go with PHP and jQuery. 

[Ryan Joy]

Hi Chris,

I think the advice to take a look at Python/Django is sound. In my opinion (shared by many), Python has a much nicer syntax than PHP. At first you might be put off by the whitespace based indention (I was.), but it's really nice once you get use to it. The Django documentation is EXCELLENT and the community is great as well meaning that you'll find resources and open source projects.

For someone who excels at HTML/CSS, Django provides a very clean template system. Check out something like Django basic apps to get started on some simple apps.

After Python, I'd go with Ruby and Ruby on Rails framework for many of the same reasons I list above. I prefer Python, but that's mostly because I've used it more. When I've gone through RoR tutorial examples, it's always seemed a bit too much magic.

-RYAN

[Travis Swicegood]

I'm plus one for Django -- but I'm a little biased.

<shameless plug>

If you're interested in learning more about Django and Python on the web, check out the Austin Web Python group (http://www.meetup.com/austinwebpythonusergroup/).  We're going to have a meet up this Thursday and both the topics are Django related.  The announcement should be posted within the next few hours.

</shameless plug>

Regardless of what you decide, make sure to get involved in the community around the language/framework.  There's meet ups for all of the major platforms, and even a few minor ones too, here in Austin.  Surrounding yourself with people who are enthusiastic about the tools you're using is a great way to learn about the tools and their ecosystem.  Not to mention, most of us are happy to answer questions to help people get started.

-T

-- 

Travis Swicegood

[Josh Marshall]

This is a big question, and probably needs some definition before you're going to be able to make an informed decision. I apologize in advance if I've misunderstood the question, and you already know all this.

For example, is it a high priority to learn a new language? If so, which one are interested in and why? I ask this because each language is going to open different doors. For example, Python is a great web development language, but also used heavily in system scripting, etc. PHP is almost exclusively a "web language", and so its ecosystem is very concentrated. Java is... Java, so ultimately you'd be able to move into Android, desktop applications, etc. but the barrier to entry is going to higher. Ruby is another great choice, as is C# / .NET, etc...

If you just want to start providing web applications without learning a new language, then right now Node is THE choice. It's the newest kid on the web dev block, but since you're already comfortable with the language, it should be easier to start up.

Second, how big do you anticipate your web application is going to get? If you are a single person working on small apps, then you can write "raw" Node, PHP, Flask (Python), etc. (And arguably learn more in the process.) But if you want to build anything that is going to grow into a team project with lots of activity, it's usually a good idea to start with something that points you toward best practices for maintainable projects. I.e. something like a Django, CodeIgniter (PHP), Express (Node), Rails (Ruby) Spring or Struts (Java), etc.

Third, database is almost always a big part of web apps. Are you interested in a "low level" approach (i.e. talking to the database(s) directly) or would you like a framework that abstracts some of that away?

Finally, what style of application are you wanting to write? For example, are you going to be building a "single page" app that loads JSON (so you won't be doing lots of template work on server side?) Some tools are geared towards "minimal" server side logic and support long-polling, etc (Socket.IO / Node for Javascript, Tornado for Python, etc.) Are you going to be writing a content management system or something similar? Some of the frameworks provide admin tools / scaffolding "for free". (CodeIgniter or Drupal for PHP, Django for Python, Rails for Ruby, etc.)

Hope this was helpful!

Josh Marshall

[Mando Escamilla]

I'd like to second Travis' suggestion to hit up a couple of the local framework/language meetups.  One of the most vital resources a technology can have is it's community and you can get a real good feel for the community by hanging out at a meeting or two. 

That said, I'll be the Rails to Travis' Django :). AustinOnRails and Austin.rb each meet once a month (although this month our schedules are off due to Railsconf).  Come by and see how awesome we are - you can find our schedules at austinonrails.org and austinrb.org. 

--

Mando

[Chris Newell]

Wow!

What a wealth of knowledge. Thank you all so very much...

I am going to continue with the "learn python the hard way" book and then try to tackle a Django book and THEN try and crash some meetups!

Again, thank you so much! This developer community is amazing. I am excited to geek out with you guys in the near future. 

Cheers,

Chris

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