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Software Dev Feature: Should I learn .NET or PHP?

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Discover the different aspects of .NET & PHP and which may be most suited to you before you start your journey as a software developer!

If you’re a software developer, there simply isn’t enough time in the world to learn every single technology, language and platform you might need for work, or to land a better job; at some point, you’re going to have to decide in what direction you want to expand your knowledge base.

The choices you make in that regard will have a huge impact on your life. If you devote too much time to learning a technology that’s on the verge of obsolescence, it could make future employment a problematic affair. Fortunately, there are lots of technologies that will continue to grow and prove useful to the world for the next several years—but how do you choose between those?

With all that in mind, let’s look at .NET and PHP, two software programming platforms that enjoy broad bases of support. PHP is a general-purpose scripting language that many people rely upon for Web development (hundreds of millions of websites leverage it today) while .NET is a framework built by Microsoft for Windows-related Web work. While it’s certainly possible to learn the intricacies of both platforms, is there one worth tackling more than the other?

 

What’s the Difference?

As mentioned above, PHP is an open-source software programming language primarily used for developing Web-based applications. There are a few tools out there that allow you to use it to write desktop applications, but the majority of apps written in PHP run on a Web server such as Apache server or Microsoft IIS.

PHP is a language, but .NET is a whole platform comprising a few different technologies. There are two main languages you can use with .NET to create either desktop or Web applications: VB.NET and C# (others exist, of course, but those are the main two). As with PHP, .NET requires a Web server (specifically Microsoft IIS) to create Web applications (it also requires ASP.NET, a technology that’s part of .NET’s broader platform).

While .NET is built into Microsoft Windows, you can run .NET desktop applications on Linux using a free and open source product called Mono. PHP sometimes comes pre-installed on Linux, and if not, it’s quick and easy to install. But to develop with either platform, you need some free tools: for .NET, you’ll want one of the free Visual Studio Express products from Microsoft; For PHP, there are several options—one popular choice is Eclipse.

There are benefits to learning either PHP or .NET. Should you learn both? If you’re new to software programming then you best just focus on one to start off with. At an early stage in your career, you need to focus your energy on getting very good at one thing, which will translate into higher-paying jobs down the road. If you try to go to broad, you will stretch yourself thin and not master anything. Pick one thing and be great at it!

 

Which Should I Pick?

So which do you pick? You could take a look at the entry-level jobs for PHP and .NET in the area, and use that data to influence your decision. But that research will only tell you about today: What about five years from now?

Here are some questions to help you work through a possible decision:

  • First, do you want to create desktop applications on Windows? Then .NET is a great way to go.
  • What about Web applications on Windows?Again, .NET is an excellent choice. However, you can do PHP on Windows (although it’s probably more commonly used on Linux).
  • Do you love Linux and want to focus on it?Then go for PHP if you’re doing Web development. While .NET can run on Linux with the help of Mono, it’s more suited to desktop and not Web.
  • So what about desktop apps on Linux, then?In that case, you probably want to move away from both PHP and .NET and study other languages and technologies, such as C++ and Gtk+, or perhaps wxWidgets combined with a language such as C++ or Python. While Mono works on Linux, it’s a bit too narrow in terms of entry-level job opportunities.
  • What if you want to do both Windows and Linux?That’s moving away from what was mentioned earlier about focusing; focus on one or the other early in your career. Later on, you can start to think about things like cross-platform development. But for learning a new technology and landing an entry-level job, please stay focused—with one caveat: If you’re going to go for Web development, don’t forget the client side. Also learn some JavaScript
  • If you’re going to go for Windows, do you choose C# or VB.NET?This is a potentially contentious question, with strong opinions on either side. One thing to bear in mind is that they’re actually very similar languages underneath, just with different syntax; you can accomplish the same thing with either. For a beginner, the best route to go down is the C# route. Reason being, things become contentious: VB.NET has a bit of stigma attached to it as an “amateur” language (even though it’s not). As a result, advanced programmers are more likely to choose C# when starting a new project.

Conclusion

As your programming knowledge becomes more advanced, you’ll find it’s easier to pick up new languages. Many of the popular languages today share similar syntax that has its roots in the original C programming language. (Such as C++, Java, C#, PHP and JavaScript.) That makes it easy to learn them later, and multiple languages may indeed lie in your future—but for now, stay focused. And most importantly: Have fun!

 

Are you already knowledgeable in the field of .NET and C#? If the answer is yes, check out our latest Software Developer vacancy by clicking on this link!

 

– Jeff Cogswell

How to Fire Up your Business Plan with Research and Development (R&D)

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Discover how to use Research and Development (R&D) to your full advantage and completely strengthen up your Business Plans!

Research and development, known as R&D, refers to that part of your business plan that is your ability to gain knowledge in order to design, develop, and enhance your product, services, technologies, or processes. If your company is a high-tech firm, R&D is number one on the list of capabilities crucial to your long-term success.

Even if your company isn’t technology- or manufacturing-based, though, don’t assume that R&D isn’t a necessary capability. Even a one-person consulting business needs research ability to track the competitive arena, find out about prospective customers, and keep on top of industry and client news.

For example, a business that liquidates households for people who can’t do so on their own hardly seems in need of R&D capability. But, think again. The Internet now plays a starring role in the sale of antiques and collectibles — whether through online auctions or through specialized auction and antique sales sites.

And even if the business owners never go near an online sale, almost certainly they’ll use online resources to find out what people are paying for items like the ones they’re selling.

For other businesses, R&D is the key to enhancing business skills, enlarging product and service portfolios, and staying on top of customer, industry, and competitive research.

Ways to improve your R&D skills include:

  • Attending trade shows with research-related sessions
  • Taking industry-specific courses, in person or online
  • Participating in social media networks with people in your field who share findings, ideas, and advice
  • Subscribing to mailings from innovators in your industry
  • Completing certification programs
  • Updating your computer skills
  • Keeping up-to-date through trade journals and sites
  • Joining an industry group
  • Broadening your awareness of industry, market area, consumer, and industry issues and opportunities
  • Your business plan should include a section that addresses your R&D capabilities, including the following:
  • The importance of R&D to your competitive success
  • A description of your current R&D capacity (including a description of the expertise of staff and contract sources)
  • Your agenda for R&D over the next year
  • Planned R&D expenditures over the next year
  • Your long-term R&D goals

 

Now you are familiar with all these key pointers to consider when planning the Research and Development aspect of your Business Plan, be selective on which factors would suite your business the most and then use them to your full advantage. Good luck!

Are you already familiar with R&D and it’s importance within a Business Plan? Would you like to actively contribute to the growth of a thriving Business? Check out our latest job opportunities by following this link! 

 

– Steven D. Peterson

– Peter E. Jaret

– Barbara Findlay Schenck

How M2M and IoT will allow Larger Data Applications

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M2M and IoT technology is on the rise.

During the last couple of years, machine-to-machine (M2M) technology has become an integral part of the services offered by global telecom providers and a significant revenue stream for M2M app specialists. They’ve developed comprehensive offerings, designed to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Meanwhile, the associated business models are beginning to account for new use case concepts and application developments; one of the latest to gain significant traction being the Internet of Things (IoT).

M2M refers to the wireless communications fabric between multiple devices. M2M is a supporting infrastructure for the IoT. M2M performs the connections, and provides the device interfaces, allowing data to be transferred between machines over wireless networks.

 

M2M Market Development

According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, new in-vehicle infotainment services such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will generate large amounts of new cellular M2M data traffic. Over the next five years, these apps will account for up to 98 percent of all M2M data traffic

Data intensive applications, such as Internet radio, music streaming and information services, will generate approximately 6,000 PB per year by 2021 – that’s the equivalent to over 300 billion hours of music streaming. Moreover, in-vehicle 4G SIMs will provide over-the-air service and subscription updates for drivers and passengers.

The market research found that M2M technology will further the development of autonomous driving systems. Cellular vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology, enabled through M2M, is expected to be the cornerstone of the new system over the coming years.

Consequently, operators will need to ensure that their networks remain able to cope with the projected increases in data traffic, especially in urban areas.

Future smart city systems – such as smart parking and smart intersections – will further drive data usage and the potential strain on mobile networks.

 

Outlook for M2M vertical apps

Meanwhile, the research found that other, less data-hungry M2M modules, would see significant increases in adoption across an array of key verticals, including healthcare, agriculture, smart metering and smart home automation.

“The wider M2M market offers a reprieve from declining traditional voice and messaging revenues. Mobile network operators are now champing at the bit to capitalize on the growth of M2M,” said Sam Barker, senior analyst at Juniper Research.

However, for network operators to maximize their opportunity in this emerging market, they’ll need to evolve beyond merely providing device connectivity, and additionally offer value-added services to their M2M and IoT service customers.

 

For more news on Information Technology, visit our ‘latest industry news’ page by following this link!

If you are looking for a new career within the IT Industry, check out our latest jobs by visiting our Jobs Page!

– David H. Deans

 

 

 

Facebook’s Internet-Providing Drone Makes First Flight

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Facebook has announced that it has completed the first flight of its UK-developed solar-powered, high-altitude drone aircraft designed to provide internet connectivity to remote regions.

The ‘Aquila’ drone was developed over the past two years by the company’s UK-based aerospace unit and will boost the Internet.org project set up in partnership with other tech firms in 2013 to widen global internet connection.

facebook-testing-aquila-drone

Internet.org aims to benefit the estimated more than four billion people who are not yet online, and has already connected more than 1 billion people by working with mobile operators. But Aquila will help reach the 10% of the world’s population living in remote locations where technologies used everywhere else are not feasible.

Facebook plans to build a fleet of Aquila drones to fly in 3.6 mile-diameter circles at 6 0,000 to 90,000 ft to avoid other air traffic and at an estimated 80mph to provide internet coverage for an area 60 miles in diameter. The drones will stay in contact with each other and the ground using lasers and will remain airborne for months at a time.

Aquila’s laser communication technology was developed by Facebook’s Connectivity Lab’s communications team in the US and will be used to deliver data at tens of Gbps, roughly 10 times faster than the previous technology, according to Facebook.

The Aquila was developed in the UK with the help of expertise acquired through Facebook’s purchase of UK aerospace five-member start-up Ascenta, led by chief engineer Andrew Cox, in 2014 for £12.5m. The drone was tested in Yuma in the US state of Arizona.

The test flight was scheduled to last 30 minutes, but was extended to 96 minutes to gather as much data as possible. It marks the start of what is expected to be a year of test flights.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said while the test flight was a milestone, there was still a lot of work to do to solve “some difficult engineering challenges”.

Although the Aquila has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737’s, it has a mass of less than 500kg thanks to its carbon-fibre frame. But, according to Zuckerberg, development teams are working to find ways of making the aircraft even lighter.

Almost half the drone’s mass comes from the aircraft’s batteries, a lot of weight to put on large, flexible wings, he said.

“We have computer models to predict how Aquila’s shape deforms under load. A few more flights will help us better understand the actual in-flight dynamics,” Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post.

The Aquila has to collect enough energy from the sun during daylight to keep its propellers, communications payload, avionics, heaters and light systems running when it is dark.

“That means using about 5,000W of power at cruising altitude, or about as much as three hairdryers. We’re always looking for ways to trim this down and make our systems more efficient,” said Zuckerberg.

To take off, fly and land, Aquila’s wings and propellers have to be able to operate both in high, cold altitudes and lower, warmer altitudes where the air can be 10 times denser. “We’re working to figure out how much power that takes – and what impact it will have on solar panel performance, battery size, latitude range and seasonal performance,” said Zuckerberg.

Aquila is mostly self-sufficient, but according to Zuckerberg still relies on a ground crew of about a dozen engineers, pilots and technicians who direct, maintain and monitor the aircraft. They control it through software that lets them determine heading, altitude and airspeed or send Aquila on a GPS-based route.

“Take-off and landing are automatic, since no human pilot can land in a precise location as well as software can,” he said.

The first test flight did not end with a textbook landing, however. The fragile structure was damaged when it landed in a stony field short of the runway, according to the BBC.

Zuckerberg has acknowledged the firm will benefit in the long run if more people gain internet access, but claims the project is based on the conviction that internet service can bring economic and social benefits to developing nations.

In parallel to work by the Facebook-led Internet.org, Google is experimenting with high-altitude balloons as well as drones and satellites, while Microsoft has funded a project to transmit internet signals over unused TV frequencies.

– Warwick Ashford

Telford Superfast Extension

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Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet is set to approve a scheme which will open up Superfast broadband to around 120 extra businesses in the borough.

If an application for European funding is successful, the Marches Broadband Grant project will provide eligible businesses across Telford & Wrekin with a fully funded grant to access fibre broadband.

In Telford and Wrekin, 98 per cent of the borough will be covered by the end of 2017 as a result of the Council’s Superfast Telford partnership with BT and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).

The council is committed to seeking a solution for the other 2% of the borough, of which this scheme is potentially one, to get coverage as close to 100 per cent as possible.

The Telford & Wrekin element of the £4m project is seeking £237,818 funding from the European Regional Development Fund , which requires match funding of £158,545.

It is assumed that the level of grant payment to businesses will on average be between £7,000 and £25,000 per business although many grants in Telford and Wrekin are likely to be towards the lower end of the spectrum, as it has more accessible, semi-rural areas.

It will only be open to businesses that have not been broadband enabled by either the current Superfast Telford programme or by other commercial broadband investment.

A total of 124 eligible businesses have initially been identified in Telford and Wrekin and an expected output of around 22 per cent or 27 businesses, including a significant number of micro enterprises will potentially benefit.

Councillor Angela McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Customer and Neighbourhood Services, said: “We have made a commitment to extend fibre broadband coverage across the borough as far as possible.

“The priority is the delivery of Superfast Telford which is still in the early stages of delivery.

“However the Marches Broadband Grant scheme opens up the availability of fibre broadband to businesses that might not be covered by Superfast Telford, although some eligible businesses may receive superfast connectivity via the main programme.

“This demonstrates our commitment to ensure that as close to as 100 per cent of the borough as possible has access to superfast connectivity and all the benefits it brings.”

Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet – which meets on 21 July – is being asked to approve proposals for the match funding mechanism.

They are also being asked to enter into a partnership agreement with project partners Shropshire and Herefordshire Councils to deliver the grant project.

– telford.gov.uk

Interested in the development of Superfast Broadband and Business? Why not check out our latest job roles in these sectors by clicking here!

The Future of SEO, Online Advertising and Social Media

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What does the future hold for SEO, online advertising and social media?

Today’s marketing landscape reflects predictions made in science fiction films from the 80’s. We have predictive technology, machine learning and computers that can perform complex actions at nothing more than a voice command.

Put simply, we are living in a new age of internet capability where every discovery leads to more endless possibilities than the last.

The impact this is having on the marketing world is immense as brands look to keep a pace with their customers, the adopters of this technology.

In this 140 character and 15-second video era, it is evident that consumers’ attention spans are decreasing and with it, so are the windows of opportunity for brands to connect with them. It is no longer about “sell sell sell” but “engage engage engage”.

So what does the future hold for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), online advertising and social media and how can marketers effectively use these tools in order to continue to engage audiences?

Why SEO will continue to boom

Given the advances in technology, it’s hard to look more than a few years into the future with huge predictability. However, it’s likely that SEO will continue to grow in popularity, in one form or another.

According to a recent study by Borrell Associates, companies are going to spend $65bn on SEO in 2016. What’s more, the same study found the SEO industry will continue to grow to an estimated $72bn by 2018 and $79bn by 2020.

It’s not hard to see why. There is more of everything. There is more searching as older generations, averse to technology, are making way for younger generations, who use it regularly.

Brands have moved from trying to make their content go viral to focus on creating content that resonates with their audience

There are more users as the internet becomes more affordable and available to different demographics. There are also more outlets for search visibility. When traditional advertising methods finally cease to exist altogether, businesses will have no choice but to look to inbound marketing campaigns in the online world.

Although it won’t all be plain sailing. We’ll see competition increase as more people get involved, which is likely to put up costs.

SEO will adapt with the times and so will how people using it. In the short-term there is much out there to help businesses keep up to date and incorporate a best practice SEO strategy – we do it regularly to support our users.

Looking further ahead, technologies such as self-driving cars will give users more time to perform searches at times when they previously couldn’t. These changes will make it possible for almost anyone to search for anything at any time.

Digital assistants will bridge the gap between online and offline search and as more and more brands get to grips with big data, we can expect to see search engines specific to individual platforms like the app store.

Social Media

While all of this is going on we will see a new age of social media that goes beyond the consumer dominated landscape it is today. It will become a business battleground, particularly centered on metrics and engagement.

Metrics such as likes, followers, retweets, unique views, total story completions or even screenshots, but most importantly click-through rates and the actions taken after that are what marketers will be looking at in more detail.

The goal of every marketer is to have a reliable social ROI (Return of investment) in order to be able to connect social efforts with real world results.

Alongside with metrics comes engagement. Brands have moved from trying to make their content go viral to focus on creating content that resonates with their audience, particularly video, and we will see a lot of developments in this space.

By producing content that is valuable and interesting to their audience, the most likely it is for it to be shared. This might seem an easy task, but it’s not. The only way to get it right is by constantly learn and understand what your audience expects from your brand and your business.

– Li-at Karpel Gurwicz

If this is of interest to you, be sure to check out our latest marketing roles here!

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