blog.wardonline

An big problem with loading content in your page with javascript, is that this content can’t be seen by search-engines.
But this problem can be overcome, see this little code example I wrote.

What can this do?

• All pages can be used with Javascript disable
• You can bookmark a page that was loaded with javascript, thanks to RHS
• The back and forward buttons of the browser are still functional

To write this, I used the jQuery javascript framework and the RHS library

You can test the example online. Or download it.

Read More…

Yesterday, I heard from 2 teachers they wanted to remove PHP from the MCT curriculum. So now, the new academic year has started en it seems that PHP is reduced to a total of 3 lessons (during 2MCT)…

Also, when you do a specialization in web technology during the final year, you don’t have a PHP course anymore since it’s been replaced by Ruby On Rails.

Why? This is what they had to say:

Big company’s and corporations told us they had no need for PHP. It’s too simple, dirty and too hard to maintain for their needs.

Are these companies underestimating the future of PHP or not?
I think there are several reasons to continue teaching PHP in MCT, and several not to.

Pros:

• PHP is all over the place. Most of the websites you come across on the web are written in PHP. And it will stay that way, for many years to come.
• Hosting PHP on a Linux server is cheap and easy. It’s affordable even for small busnisses.
• The amount of PHP-frameworks using the MVC-principals is growing fast, and they are getting better and bigger. They make PHP-websites a lot faster to create, a lot easier to maintain and easier to expand on.
• Not all MCT-students will end up in a big company. (right?)

Cons:

• Once you have a decent knowledge of several languages/frameworks (like J2EE, ASP.NET and RoR), it’s pretty easy to learn PHP yourself.
• There’s not “that” much you can learn about PHP in school. Most of it will come through experience. J2EE, .NET and RoR on the other hand are much more complex, capacious and broad. So they are a lot harder to learn by yourself.
• Testing.
• Reusing business logic code from company programs in your website, without rewriting it in another language.

So I’m not really against their decision about PHP in MCT, but I do think PHP has a bright future (even for bigger business applications).