XSLT vs PHP

[johnbr]

I'm getting ready to upgrade from FM6 to 7 and consequently need to find a replacement for my CDML web files. Is there an advantage to using either PHP or XSL/XSLT for accessing FM data from the web pages?

[Steve T.]

Howdy! I've only started using PHP this summer and am not really familiar with XML or stylesheets at all, but FWIW... I don't think it's an either/or kinda thing. PHP is a fully functional scripting/programming language that can be used for a variety of purposes, one of which could be the manipulation of XML constructs and whatnot. PHP can be an intermediary to interact with your database, but it can also allow you to process web form data, send e-mails, perform math/calcs, etc. without any db interaction.

I like working with PHP but it is definitely coding. If you have done programming before, you'll already understand concepts like strings, variables, arrays, control structures, loops, etc. If you are comfortable with that, I'd encourage you to learn PHP whether or not you also decide to delve into XML and XSLT (which I have not done yet but hope to soon).

--ST