PHP Developers Prefer Using Windows to Build Enterprise Apps: Study

Only the Zend users, the ones buying their development tools and acceleration tools, were counted. I do not know whether it would be more or less Windows if you included everyone.

and these are the users most likely to be working in an environment where Windows is the predominant or even only Desktop

Quoting:and these are the users most likely to be working in an environment where Windows is the predominant or even only Desktop

The information in the article seems to be at odds with that statement.

It indicates that the majority of php developers surveyed actually prefer non-microsoft OSes, with a minority of 42% choosing microsoft windows. This stands in stark contrast with the profile of average, non-technical folks, of whom over 90% are microsoft windows users.

So, far from being more microsoft centric, the php developers surveyed are much less microsoft-centric than the average computer user. This is in accord with what I've seen at a number of large US companies: The rank and file use microsoft windows and are unaware that there is any other OS, while the techies tend to be concentrations of linux users.

gus http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/30334/ and http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/30329/

Quoting:Only the Zend users, the ones buying their development tools and acceleration tools, were counted.

The article says that people using the Zend Framework were interviewed. The Zend Framework is an open source PHP framework that anyone can use (much like CakePHP, Kohana, CodeIgniter, Symphony, etcetera).

What I am surprised about a bit is how high Linux usage is. This survey is about the OS on the developer's computer, not the OS on which the app will be deployed (that's still 85% Linux). For many, the best way to develop PHP apps with Zend Framework, Zend Server, etcetera is to use Zend Studio, a PHP IDE. But that only runs on Windows. In fact, according to the survey 18% prefers Vim :-)

Quoting:For many, the best way to develop PHP apps with Zend Framework, Zend Server, etcetera is to use Zend Studio, a PHP IDE. But that only runs on Windows.

Actually, zend studio is available for the big 3 desktop platforms: peecee, mac and linux.

@herz:

You mean "peecee" isn't Linux? What is it then?

Or were you being facetious?

@gus3 - you're joking, right, or did the spelling of pc as "peecee" throw you?

At any rate, all of the cross platform software I can think of (those that a least cover the big 3) lists the platforms as "pc, mac and linux", which is perfectly logical and correct. Microsoft windows comes from the pc culture and heritage, while linux comes from the unix culture and heritage - with all the drastic differences those two different cultures bring with them. (despite the superficial similarities in the appearance of the GUI, which is almost inevitable given the universal input and display hardware which exists today)

Linux, as unix in general, is rather platform neutral in theory, though the economies of scale have made the x86 architecture the real sweet spot in terms of market share, and thus applications, but linux can and does run on all sorts of platforms from wristwatches to supercomputers.

I see a real difference between unix, mac and pc, because although mac is also based on a unix core, apple have departed from the unix philosophy in several ways, and OSX has carved out its own unique niche.

Quoting:Actually, zend studio is available for the big 3 desktop platforms: peecee, mac and linux.

That's new to me. It used to be just Windows last time I tried it. Not that I liked it. I'm with the 18% Vim crowd :-)

hehe.

Midnight Commander for my smaller stuff, Eclipse with PHP plugins for my large work projects.

From the article itself, the majority of php developers surveyed prefer non-microsoft platforms.

Only 42% of them prefer to develop on windows - yes, just 42% and they make it sound like some sort of strident demand for microsoft windows. Whatever are they teaching in the schools these days?

There is a very high likelyhood that the majority of those [the 42%] are developing on Windows simply because that's what they are given as the desktop to work on. In almost every case where I've worked in a corporate environment, you work on the desktop the company chooses, even when the tools are cross platform. Most Corporations will be using Windows as the corporate desktop.

The important bit, and what Microsoft has spent so much time and effort attempting to reverse, is that only 11% of the Servers used for those applications are Windows.

Quoting:The important bit, and what Microsoft has spent so much time and effort attempting to reverse, is that only 11% of the Servers used for those applications are Windows.

That is a very good point, and something you will never read about in a microsoft report.

A couple years ago I was talking to a friend who worked at myspace, and he had asked the developers there why they used microsoft windows servers and didn't consider linux. Their answer was amusing, as they in effect said "microsoft windows and dot net are so superior and so advanced, there is no way we could ever consider linux, because there's no way we could ever do all this cool stuff on a platform other than microsoft windows"

But then facebook, which is a classic LAMP site, proceeded to eat their lunch, really pushing myspace into irrelevance. Massive layoffs have been ocurring as myspace continues to decline, while facebook is exploding.

So much for microsoft and dot net being the be all and end all of computer science and technology.

On the developer desktop side, even with all the microsoft inertia we all know so well, let's keep in mind that 42% is still a minority.

Quoting: [...] keep in mind that 42% [MS/Windows] is still a minority.

And I will work my heart for them ... as long as the checks don't bounce.

YBT