I've been programming web applications in PHP for a very long time now, but whenever I start a new project I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better and easier to use C++. I guess that some people here will agree with me, and many probably won't, but let's just ignore that

So the only reason I'm still using PHP is time. I have to put up with the language but I'm rewarded with a library that does very many things I'd have to do myself in C++. It's not just the HTTP-related stuff like cookies and headers, file uploads and all that, it's also the other parts of the library, such as file_get_contents() and the like.

I think there's really nothing wrong with having a way to request a local or HTTP file in one single line, but in C++ that just does not seem to be possible, not with the libraries I've seen.

So I'm thinking about finally taking this step and switching to C++, and I'm even ready to write my own little library that can simplify many things for me.
But before I go ahead with this I wanna make sure there really isn't anything useful out there I've overlooked.

So does anyone know about a library like what I've described?

(And, yes, I know about Java Servlets and all that but that just isn't for me )

TIA

Hmm, are you looking to use C/C++ for the same purpose as PHP, i.e. creating web sites, etc? If so, I wouldn't look at just any programming language, but either a web-specialized one (like PHP), or something with a web framework (like Python + Django, Python + Turbogears, Ruby + Rails, Perl + Catalyst). C++ just isn't very optimal, at all, for that purpose.

I know, that's my point. I want to make it optimal

I realize that C++ makes it more complicated in most cases, but I actually want that. I want static typing and all that cause only then can I really control and predict the application's behavior in all situations. And I also like multiple inheritance and stuff like that.

For small scripts with simple purposes I would still use PHP (anything else wouldn't make any sense cause most of what I write has to be able to run on any webserver out there), but what I'm working on mostly is big database backends or CMSs that include database backends. For those things I want all the power C++ can give me, PHP and other scripting languages just aren't nearly enough for that.
Anyway even in those projects I have to do some thins that are not database- but web-related, and for that I need functionality similar to that of PHP.

Why not use php as a frontend to a C or C++ library? You can compile shared objects for php in C or C++ and use them from your php scripts. Otherwise, compile your C or C++ program as a server to which your php script may make a socket or other IPC connection.

That with the modules sounds interesting Do you have any more information on that? Is that "officially supported" by PHP or does it involve some hacking?

The problem is that some of my projects have to run on servers that don't belong to me. For my own server I would probably write a database deamon indepent of HTTP, but I guess the big hosting companies my customers like to use would not allow that So I have to use something that's either supported by most servers or that can go in the cgi-bin folder...

It is “officially supported” in the sense that the majority of php is in extensions (some of which are third-party and some of which come with php). Here is a tutorial.

Some hosting providers allow you to use your own compiled extensions (if you upload them to the libexec directory), but you’ll have to check whether or not yours does as well.

Did you come across witty in your searches?



Cheers,
Tink