Annice.se is now based on PHP with Symfony
Annice.se is now completely rebuilt, meaning that at the time of writing it is based on the web application language PHP 7.4 with Symfony 5.1.8. This means that all server logic have been moved from my former OutSystems' cloud server to my current web hotel at One.com, which instead of C# runs PHP as a server language. This work has also led to a total database migration from the former SQL Server based DBMS to the currently used MySQL based one with MariaDB.
The reason for me rebuilding the webpage was partly to keep as much of the server logic as centralized as possible, but also to gain greater detail control of all the server code. Since OutSystems is based on Low-Code development - along with the fact that I only had a free instance to use on their server - it also meant limited development possibilities. However, I also have to admit that I simply enjoy developing more when it is done in pure code. :)
Why I chose PHP as the application code instead of, for example, C# has nothing to do with me thinking that C# would be less good in any way. The reason is rather that the web hotel I have been hosting my site at does not support C#. Furthermore, I have been hosting parts or the entire website at the web hotel One.com for nearly 15 years, and I have always been happy with their services, customer service, as well as prices. Thus, I simply do not see a reason for a change, so cred to One.com!
Just like C#, I have always had a good impression of PHP as a development language. In fact, PHP was also the first programming language I got in contact with when I first became interested in web development for real in my early 20s. Moreover, it has also been a language I have been developing in intermittently ever since.
Furthermore, when I started studying information systems and informatics at Linköping University in 2013, Java was the first programming course we studied there. Moreover, that was also when I first got in contact with object-oriented programming, which was a kind of code structure I got a very good impression of, structured as I am. :-] When I later discovered the object-oriented language C# - which in my opinion is a more clean version of Java - it sort of became my new favorite language.
PHP which, however, has never originally been an object-oriented language has still remained strong among pure web development languages over the years. Over time, PHP has also evolved to having a fantastic support for object-orientation as well. And I guess that is where I also get into my choice of Symfony as a framework.
When I started researching a bit regarding a potentially new code approach for Annice.se, the choice was finally between PHP Symfony and PHP Laravel. However, it seems that many people's opinions regarding the two frameworks in comparison are that Symfony still provides the best detail control in the end. Furthermore, I noticed that the basic principle with the Symfony approach seemed to be strikingly similar to the way of working with C# ASP.NET Core. Particularily when it comes to object-orientation with design patterns such as MVC, along with the management of classes, components, dependency injections of different services and such like. I could compare those two frameworks more thoroughly in another blog post, but the conclusion was simply that Symfony turned out to appeal to me best.
All in all, the choice fell on PHP with Symfony. And with the introduction I have given myself so far of the framework in question in conjunction with the rebuilding of Annice.se, I would say it has only aroused further interest!
For the latest version of Annice.se, I have also built this new blog. Moreover, the purpose with the blog is mainly to write about stuff that interest myself, such as web development and digital creation. I have always tended to write down tutorials, code snippets and other good-to-have information in general in my OneNote tool to keep track of things anyway. And instead of just keeping these notes in my personal OneNote, I thought I might as well create my own kind of web encyclopedia in the form of a blog instead. :)