title: Advantages of ASP.Net compiled model?
body: <p>I'm working with a PHP developer who is, shall we say, unhappy with .NET. His complaints include having to rebuild the web application solution for every test (though I pointed out that this is usually only necessary if a .cs file has been changed, not interface .aspx files), having to include every file in the solution that is required to be deployed, etc.</p>
  
  <p>I've pointed out a number of advantages of the compiled model including RTTI (reflection), source code integrity (source isn't deployed to the server, keeping meddlesome IT people from modifying it on-the-fly), performance differences (though he insists that this isn't valid since PHP is now "compiled"), etc. What are some other advantages of .NET over PHP? This may incite a religious debate - please God, no - but I'm such a fan of .NET that some of these questions which I asked years ago seem so silly that I can't articulate a valid response.</p>
  
  <p>There also seem to be significant differences in the way in which he goes about developing a page. For instance, declaring a class which represents part of a page - say, a particular column in a 3-column layout - rather than breaking up the code in a more logical fashion and relying on the .aspx to handle layout. It strikes me as odd that page layout would, in any way, be tied to class structure beyond that of the code-behind for a aspx page.</p>
  
  <p>Comments?</p>
  
  <p><strong>UPDATE</strong> BTW, this is an old question, but I felt it necessary to update with a few points:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p><strong>Optimization</strong> This is a big one. Compilation provides the opportunity to perform some optimizations that aren't practical to perform during the JIT.  </p></li>
  <li><p>The article that o.k.w referred to is <strong>so obviously biased and created by someone that hasn't worked a significant time in .NET</strong> that it's hardly worth reading, (though I did). It also makes points that are entirely <em>incorrect</em>.</p></li>
  <li><p>It's damn near impossible to make Mac people realize that Windows has its place. On the other hand, most Windows guys I know think that Macs are great for a lot of things. Most even own one. We don't use them for developing websites or embedded systems for a reason. (And, yes, our business involves both, intimately.)</p></li>
  <li><p>First loves gone bad... excellent analogy. This will probably come out of my mouth in a meeting sometime soon. </p></li>
  <li><p>This debate is useless. I may as well try and convince the UK to drive on the correct side of the road. And Australia. And Hong Kong. And... you see where this is going.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Cheers.</p>