• 0

Suggestions request - for getting a web-based application developed


Question

Hello,

I want to out-source development of a web based application for a school where the number of users using the application may be anywhere from 15 - 25:

  1. Should I get it developed in ASP, PHP, or VB.NET? I do not know the pros and cons of either of these programming languages and will be grateful for help.
  2. Are ASP.NET and VB.NET 2 different programming languages or the same thing?
  3. Should I use MS-SQL server or MYSQL? All I know is that the cost of MYSQL is significantly lower but that's about it. I don't know how much price difference we are talking about. Can someone help in this regard?
  4. Is MYSQL basically a run-down version of MS-SQL server?
  5. What is the name of the company that develops MYSQL?
  6. Which features of MS-SQL server are not available in MYSQL?
  7. Any additional information which can help me decide between MS-SQL Server versus MYSQL will be very much appreciated

Thanks.

Edited by morland
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

[*] Should I get it developed in ASP, PHP, or VB.NET? I do not know the pros and cons of either of these programming languages and will be grateful for help.

Write what you know. If you're outsourcing: go with what your developer knows. Unless you have some sort of service mandate (ie: You must use MS SQL with IIS) then it really doesn't matter what they choose to write a solution in.

Should I use MS-SQL server or MYSQL? All I know is that the cost of MYSQL is significantly lower but that's about it. I don't know how much price difference we are talking about. Can someone help in this regard?

MySQL is cheap, but the "real cost" of SQL server is probably going to be much cheaper than you think.

Forcing a contractor (at $100/hour) to use MySQL because the license cost is cheaper could cost you thousands in extra development work as your development team learns to work with new tools. Your best course of action is to take recommendations from your contracted workers and act accordingly.

With 25 users (and I assume a forum-sized collection of data) you're not going to be taxing your database server so there's no real technical reason to prefer one over the other. The choice of platform will likely determine what SQL server you'll use. A Mac fan writing ruby will prefer SQLite or MySQL on a Rack/Mongrel stack. A PHP developer will prefer MySQL, and a C#.Net guy will likely prefer MS SQL.

Is MYSQL basically a run-down version of MS-SQL server?

No. MySQL is a from-scractch SQL server. It's used on tiny blogs by random neowin members to some of the largest companies on earth. I have run into the limits of MySQL in the past, but it was on applications that did orders of magnitude more work than what you're proposing (multi-terabyte databases).

SQL Server does have some advantages over MySQL but there at the extremely high end of the scale. MySQL is an 18-wheel truck, SQL Server is a Freight Train: both are more than adequate to carry a single loaf of bread across town.

What is the name of the company that develops MYSQL?

It's an open source project with thousands of contributors from around the world. Last I checked, Sun Microsystems was the owner of the MySQL trademark.

Which features of MS-SQL server are not available in MYSQL?

Support for non-microsoft runtimes tends to be much more developed. It's also free.

Any additional information which can help me decide between MS-SQL Server versus MYSQL will be very much appreciated

Without more information: I'd say it doesn't matter. From the limited details both are way beyond adequate. Heck even the free MS SQL Express (the lightweight/free version of SQL Server) is likely to be way more than what you need.

If both are free, you're not writing the code, and you don't really have a preference: let your contractor make a recomendation.

If you do need a "big boy" version of SQL server expect to pay around $4000 retail. More realistically, you'd buy a copy of SBS which covers your windows, exchange, and sql server licenses for about about twice what a copy of Vista Ultimate edition runs ($700-1300 depending on where you buy it).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Hi +evn,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Though your post had raised many more questions but I feel that i certainly know more than what I knew earlier. So thanks for that :)

Some more questions.

1) Is ASP.NET and VB.NET one and the same thing or are they 2 different programming languages?

2) So if I understand correctly, MYSQL is totally free. Right?

3) You have mentioned use of IIS (Internet Information Server or is it Services). I assume that will be a pre-requisite if I want a web based application running in Windows environment. Right?

4) Also, does ISS come as part of Windows 2003 or is it something that needs to be purchased separately? If it is a service which already comes with Windows 2003 then it should only be a matter of running this service in automatic mode.

5) Suppose (big suppose) I decide to go with MYSQL but in year 2 I decide (for whatever reasons) to shift my database from MYSQL to SQL-Server. Would this be easily possible?

6) Does MYSQL offer something similar to SQL-Server's Analysis Services?

Last question) I'll admit that I have not been able to under the below quoted part of your reply. If possible, can you kindly elaborate:

MySQL is cheap, but the "real cost" of SQL server is probably going to be much cheaper than you think.

Forcing a contractor (at $100/hour) to use MySQL because the license cost is cheaper could cost you thousands in extra development work as your development team learns to work with new tools. Your best course of action is to take recommendations from your contracted workers and act accordingly.

Thanks!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

To just backup what +evn has said,

1) Don't really confuse VB.NET and ASP.NET. VB.NET is a .NET language, where as ASP.NET is more of a programming model/platform. ASP.NET supports the creation and running of websites written in VB.NET, or C#.

2) MySql does produce an enterprise variant of its servers, but the cummunity edition is free.

3) You can install Apache as an alternative web server, but the newer versions of Windows (including Vista and 7) have IIS as optional components. It's painless to setup and and easy to manage. IIS7 is a webserver that is years ahead of everything else, thats my opinion of course.

4) See the above comment, IIS6 is included with Windows Server 2003.

5) You may encounter difficulties because of the different formats, but it cna be relatively painless to transition from MySql to MSSQL and vice versa, unless you are using specific features of the respective database.

6) I don't know enough about the MySql eco-system to answer that question properly, but I would imagine that there are tools available to do what Analysis Server does.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
Last question) I'll admit that I have not been able to under the below quoted part of your reply. If possible, can you kindly elaborate:

Basically he's saying that MySQL is only cheaper in the long run if the developer knows how to use it. Otherwise you'll be paying extra for the time they'll take in learning how to use it; that's to say, if you're developing on a Windows platform, it's often better to just accept that MS-SQL may be cheaper in the long run than enforcing the use of MySQL with the associated costs of your developer learning how to use it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Ho Antaris and Rob,

Many thanks for your replies and for educating me. Your replies (and the one's from evn) have been extremely useful.

My questions are getting narrowed down. Started from knowing nothing to the final questions (hopefully).

1) Can you kindly confirm that IIS comes free with Windows 2003.

2) Is IIS a service or something that has to be installed?

3) Based on your reply, my understanding is that that the enterprise version of MySQL is not for free. Right?

Thanks a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

IIS is a free component of Windows Server 2003. When you setup your server, you can add the Web Server Role which will setup and configure IIS6 for you.

MySql Enterprise is a subscription based service, the main difference between that and the Community edition is that the Enterprise variant offers enterprise-level support.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I develop ASP.NET apps ontop of MySQL using the ADO.NET Connector and find the experience seamless and painless. :) I've developed more than a handful and prefer to do so because of the lower costs involved.

Just throwing in my .02

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.