After the “rate yourself” thread I notice that quite a few of you harbor some animosity towards these languages. I was just curious why.. I mean sure they are immature and not as well supported as PHP, but I admire their approach to OO and clean syntax.

Python has been around since the late 1980s while PHP was developed in 1994.  How does that make PHP more mature than Python?

Both Ruby and Python interest me but building something my client can take with them elsewhere easily if they choose to host elsewhere is why I have based everything I do on PHP.

Django was the first web-framework I worked at for any length of time and I really loved it - actually I still do!  But, finding a host that supports it and actually getting it up and running as opposed to fielding a PHP-based solution is so much harder.  I guess you can’t have everything.

Ruby is a great language, as is Python, both if which I taught myself (as I did with PHP). Unfortunately, just like it’s hard to get PHP5 support on many hosts, getting Ruby and Python support on hosts tends to be a pain in the ass.

Even some of the more popular hosts, like Dreamhost, that support Ruby and Python - the entry level to getting the frameworks (and your apps) setup to run on the server are ridiculous.

This is why I choose PHP over anything else. It’s not because I like PHP better (I happen to enjoy Ruby, with the Ruby on Rails framework immensely) - it’s because I would have a stroke trying to get a Ruby and Python friendly host setup to run any app I develop.

Once Ruby and Python receive a bit more hosting support - where the setup is as easy as pie (like PHP, just upload and your done) - then those languages will see more support amongst the developer community.