LAMP vs WISA Debate

Question

Philadelphia is full with small startups and most of them are using open source to build their applications. Here on C# Corner, I would like to open this debate between these two LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) and WISA (Windows-IIS-SQL Server-ASP.NET).

What is your take? Why would you choose one over other?

Mahesh Chand · Answer

Yes agree Sam. The biggest problem and challenge for Linux is the user interface. It is not for non-technical users. As you said, Admin still runs from command lines :). Support is not available as simple as Microsoft.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

I think Microsoft has a huge advantage because every desktop I see in stores has Windows. Microsoft's dominance will dwindle significantly when cosnumers are offered a choice of operating systems when they purchase a desktop. If they were given a choice of either paying for Windows or using Linux for nothing or for less then there would quickly be many more users of Linux. Most consumers do not realize that they pay for Windows when they purchase a desktop or a laptop with Windows. One barrier to acceptance of Linux is that there is not just one Linux. With Windows, we decide what features we want to pay for. With Linux, there are many distributions with a variety of features and such. It is confusing. The dust seems to be settling and there are a few that are more popular than others; I see Ubuntu a lot lately. Non-technical consumers need help deciding what to use. Another thing about Linux is that, at least in the past, administration of Linux has been difficult to the extent that there is often long complicated procedures to do things and if you request assistance you are likely told to read the instructions. It is, or at least was, not easy to use Linux for anyone non-technical or for technical people that don't want to invest many hours. I hope things have improved. I sure hope that businesses are not usng PHP for their software outside of web sites. Do you know what they are using for that? Is it possible to use C# and Mono in Apache for web sites? Do they use JSP in web sites? If Linux is becoming more popular for businesses to run their businesses then the opportunity for us is good. I would go for Linux if there is sufficient opportunity. I still hope to do some Android programming, which is Linux; at least at a lower level.

Mahesh Chand · Answer

Good resource Vulpes. Obviously, LAMP wins here. We know Facebook is built on LAMP. Other websites like WordPress and other popular blogging websites use LAMP as well. I would be curious to see any popular website built on .NET? Probably msn and MSDN.

Vulpes · Answer

Here's a comparison between LAMP, ASP.NET and J2EE: http://www.syllogisticsoftware.com/papers/Web_Development_Technology_Comparison.html Speaking as someone who's primarily a desktop developer, I don't know whether this comparison is fair or not but, if it is, then one can understand why small businesses would opt for LAMP rather than the other two.