

Ask HN: Django or ROR or CakePHP or else should I choose? - desushil

I am a computer major student and want to start working on my own idea, on which may be I could build a startup later on. Mostly, my ideas are web based so I haven't thought much about going to Python or going to C++ or anything else. I am not sure about which of the above Django/ROR/CakePhp/etc to chose! There are alot more, it's just that I found these popular than others. After searching inside hackernews posts and comments, I found myself even more confused in choosing between these.<p>What do you guys suggest me to use?<p>And yes, it's not about only one application! As I want to build my own startup, it also concerns about how much will I learn from them, which may help me in my other startups to come!
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ludwigvan
I would suggest Django over RoR; RoR contains more magic (but RoR seems to
offer more convenience for someone experienced with RoR since it is based on
convention vs configuration.) Also, I have heard that Rails changes very
fastly sometimes, so you may have difficulty catching up if you are a student
(but at the same time, it has a livelier community, so that might be a plus --
check out <http://rubyweekly.com/> ).

With Django, the core structure is simpler to understand, and you may continue
working on your site after a few week's break easily. This is a little bit
like the difference bt. Python and Ruby/Perl; I find Ruby/Perl more flexible
(there is more than one way to do it), Python to be more strict (there is
usually a single best way).

To sum up, I don't think it would make a difference if you were a full time
developer working on the project every day, but for a student, occasionally
working on a project, Django would be easier to get accustomed to, after not
working on the project for a given time.

PS: I suggest you to take a look at Flask (Python) or Sinatra (Ruby) too; they
might be easier to start with. Your experience with Flask would help with
Django, too (or vice versa).

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desushil
That's really an awesome advice. I will definitely take this in mind.

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mindcrime
I have the solution to your problem:

<http://www.coboloncogs.org/INDEX.HTM>

All joking aside, you can be successful with any of the frameworks you
mentioned, and any number of other ones. My personal default recommendation is
Groovy on Grails, but I can't say that it's objectively better than, say, Ruby
on Rails. It's just... groovy.

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microkernel
I'd say - it doesn't matter. As a person who faced the same choice two years
ago, I went with RoR. Mostly because of the bigger community around it. By now
I mostly consider it great because it is basically a best-practise sharing
example. Any of these frameworks expose you to currently brewing technologies
- and that helped me a lot along the way.

~~~
desushil
Thank you for sharing your experience. :)

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sathishmanohar
If you are new, I suggest RoR, since, it takes all the nitty griddy details
out of the way, and lets you focus on the real outcome of your app. Take a
Ruby Crash Course and jump into Rails.

~~~
desushil
Probably, I will start with RoR, at least it seems so now. :)

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joshuacc
If that's the route you're going, I highly suggest Michael Hartl's Ruby on
Rails Tutorial. The entire text is available for free, but you can pay for a
PDF version and accompanying screencasts.

<http://ruby.railstutorial.org/>

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paradox95
If you are going to build in PHP there is no need for any kind of framework.
Especially CakePHP. A simple PHP framework can be built in a day that for your
needs is a lot better than any existing framework.

As far as language choice: this question gets asked like every day. The answer
is always the same. What do you feel more comfortable with? Once you answer
that, you have your answer.

~~~
desushil
The problem is I am a noob! I don't have much experience than a little C, C++
and PHP.

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declancostello
what languages / frameworks do your friends use?

Use that and ask for their advice.

~~~
desushil
it feels bad to say, most of the people/friends around me don't know any more
than php/mysql/javascript or like this

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gerds
RoR

It's not Rails so much, it's Ruby.

