Joanne,
> Im really a newbie when it comes to application
> development, I used to develop website through PHP and
> now Im undergoing training for application
> development
I hope you can answer some of my
> questions. Me and my colleagues would like to develop
> help fix one of the application in the company. This
> application will be shared throughout the company
> network. One of my colleagues suggested the use of
> PostgreSQL for some data and use it together with
> Delphi or Visual Basic. In general there any
> advantage in using Delphi / VB than using ordinary
> PHP
particularly with speed and reliability issues?
I can give you a very simple answer: No.
The advantage of using Delphi or VB for your interface are the advantages that
come with a client-side application instead of a web app:
1) Interactive & immediate response to user input (no screen reloads).
2) Fine-grained formatting options and printer-friendly reporting.
3) Two-way session control for user security.
The disadvantages are:
1) Platform dependence (e.g. VB runs only on Windows and Delphi doesn't do
OSX).
2) Plaform version issues and corruption of program binaries by viruses and
disk corruption on the desktop;
3) Rollout issues with installing each interface bug fix on each user desktop;
4) Secure communications protocol issues with communication btw. the desktop
clients and the server;
5) Speed issues with poorly configured or "sick" desktop machines;
6) Vastly more cumbersome external access for work-from-home users.
My company used to develop applications using VB clients. Now we pretty much
exclusively develop intranet-based applications (usually PHP + PostgreSQL);
they are cheaper, easier, and faster.
--
Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco