Newbie Alert: Scripts

[PaulMellors]

Just out of curiosity, what do people code their scripts in?

I have a friend who uses PHP, the i read about perl being good, but unless your a decent coder you'll have problems with sockets etc. Then i read somewhere that some people are using BASH scripts [are these even quick enough?] I suppose i better just pick a language and see what happens

 

[bb99]

PHP is easier to learn and use... so I use that.

However, for mega speed I'm led to believe you should write in C and compile it to create a standalone executable. Not sure what the speed difference would be though.

 

[jonno]

Not sure what the speed difference would be though.

well with my old 303 method my PHP app could hammer out 500 requests (and parse them) in around 5-8 seconds - and at only that point it was my system (not nominets limits) that was the bottleneck if i wanted to go quicker!

of course compiled scripts will be milliseconds quicker - but if you wanted to get silly about it and compete with compile execution times then another option would be to run your script through Zend Optimizer (which basically compiles PHP into its rawest form - bytecode).

thers so many options - i'd say just stick with what you know best

 

[eetc]

VB works for me and give me a nice interface too

 

[_Ronnie_]

If you don't know me, I'm behind all of the dropcatcher.co.uk scripts. I have tried many different approaches and thought that I would enlighten you. One interesting way I have found for learning different programming languages has, in fact, been to rewrite our dropcatching system with them.

In the past, I have used PHP, shell scripts, perl, compiled C code and most recently, Ruby. Due to the power of modern computers, the language you use makes little difference to the overall speed of the code. What does make a difference is the efficiency of the code itself and the optimisation of the database (if you use one!)

Naturally, my fastest code is in C++. But the difference is negligible and version 1 in C code was actually 15% slower than my fastest PHP code! Zend Optimiser, while useful for speed, has some interesting 'features' that make scripts run rather unpredictably. Process control functions are particularly dodgy and these are rather useful for dropcatching scripts.

At the moment, my favourite language is Ruby. It has some interesting and very useful constructs. If I were starting from scratch, I'd ditch PHP and learn Ruby (which is what currently runs our scripts).

Kind regards
--
Dr. Ronnie Davies BA (Hons) MB/BChir (Cantab.)

 

[aquanuke]

Cheers for that insight Ronnie very interesting. My scripts are in PHP.

 

[jonno]

yeah thanks for your post Ronnie and welcome to the forum

i have been meaning to look into Ruby myself - however i have never considered it for a dropcatcing script until now! i have the ruby on rails framework installed however i haven't had any time to play with it yet!

 

[bb99]

At the moment, my favourite language is Ruby. It has some interesting and very useful constructs. If I were starting from scratch, I'd ditch PHP and learn Ruby (which is what currently runs our scripts).

My "technical sounding board" mate has been raging about Ruby / Rails for a while now. I've got a load of PDF books to read about it, but not quite got round to reading them or coding anything with it.

It looks "interesting" though

 

[_Ronnie_]

It all depends on how much time you want to devote to learning a new programming language. While PHP is easy to learn and use, it does have a large overhead and sufficient irritating quirks to make coding problematic. Ruby is a very pure object-orientated language, with few, if any, exceptions. I can halve the line-length of PHP programs by converting them to Ruby and also enhance their readability.

bb99 - you mention Rails. Rails is a programming framework that takes the donkey work out of creating web applications. The basic principle is you create the database definition and Rails creates the list/add/edit/delete pages and takes the headache out of data validation. It also has a superb AJAX implementation and loads of other time-saving features, provided that you stay withing the naming conventions that it likes. It takes a little time to understand the MVC framework, but the end result is minimal coding, meaning more time spent designing the user interface. If you don't fancy the prospect of learning the Ruby language (on which Rails is based), you can always have a look at one of the many MVC frameworks that run over PHP. The best one that comes to mind is called 'Biscuit'. Take a look at http://biscuitproject.tigris.org/.

Kind regards
--
Dr. Ronnie Davies BA (Hons) MB/BChir (Cantab.)

 

[FC Domains]

Dr. Ronnie Davies BA (Hons) MB/BChir (Cantab.)

Sorry and all that, but after working for 30 years as a Top Tosser Spotter, anybody whos signature goes into that sort of detail, is probably talking out of thier arse.

 

[revsorg]

Have you ever considered a career as a diplomat, fc?

 

[aquanuke]

Sorry and all that, but after working for 30 years as a Top Tosser Spotter, anybody whos signature goes into that sort of detail, is probably talking out of thier arse.

Ruby Murray thats a curry init'


Junior School Football Captain. BA (Hons) in Truancy.

 

[rob]

Sorry and all that, but after working for 30 years as a Top Tosser Spotter, anybody whos signature goes into that sort of detail, is probably talking out of thier arse.

I was tempted to post something and sign off...

Cheers,
Rob Taylor Bsc(Hons) WrexhamAFC(fan)

 

[Jay Daley]

Bit off topic for me but I have to agree about Ruby. Outstanding language and rails is an outstanding web framework. If you get the time then try reading the book "Beyond Java" which explains well what makes Ruby so good.

Basically if you want a language that is extremely powerful but is deliberately designed to be as forgivingly simple as possible, then that's Ruby.

(Sorry to evangelise but there I was writing a Ruby on Rails system for a bit of fun, when I read this post !)

 

[retired_member11]

Sorry and all that, but after working for 30 years as a Top Tosser Spotter, anybody whos signature goes into that sort of detail, is probably talking out of thier arse.

Is there the equivalent of an ASBO for a forumite?

 

[DropCatcher-co-uk]

Hi Colin,

I have had professional dealings with you in the past and had always been impressed by your professionalism and so was very surprised to see such a personal attack on one of the most central figures in UK dropcatching.

Are you saying that Ronnie is a tosser because he doesn't know what he is talking about or because he is bull**itting about his qualifications?

If the former, DropCatcher's 60,000+ catches over the last four years using Ronnie's scripts would make that statement just about the silliest post I have ever seen. If the latter, I can personally vouch for these qualifications, plus a couple of extras that the initials don't tell you. Ronnie took a First. And passed his final degree with a Distinction.

 

[_Ronnie_]

Sorry and all that, but after working for 30 years as a Top Tosser Spotter, anybody whos signature goes into that sort of detail, is probably talking out of thier arse.

I think you accidentally included the word 'spotter' in your previous message.

--
Dr. Ronnie Davies BA (Hons) MB/BChir (Cantab.)

 

[FC Domains]

I have had professional dealings with you in the past and had always been impressed by your professionalism and so was very surprised to see such a personal attack on one of the most central figures in UK dropcatching.

It was probably just the hippy and non-conformist in me, jumping out and having a shout.
Somebody listing their full qualifications, to establish their importance, just jarred with me. The only place that belongs, is on a CV.

As for DropCatchers scripts. They're not TAGNAMES are they?

PS I wasn't doubting the validity of Doc Ronnie's qualifications.

 

[aquanuke]

Ronnie or Chris..

How much notice does your system need to be checking a name?

Ie if I enter a name that will drop in less then 24 hours, once I book the slot is it immediately checking or is their a manual process involved.

Cheers.

 

[_Ronnie_]

Ronnie or Chris..

How much notice does your system need to be checking a name?

Ie if I enter a name that will drop in less then 24 hours, once I book the slot is it immediately checking or is their a manual process involved.

Cheers.

It gets checked immediately.