Programmers wanted to be part of a team working on a web-based solution that will allow users to view their account details/ balance, do transfers, etc.

What programming language is the best for this solution and why?

You can email me at toyinakint@gmail.com as soon as you read this message. Thanks

Any of the major programming languages out there will do. For example Java, .net scale well when it comes to web development. Is any development currently being done, and if so, what's the programming language and platform. You have to be able to define what you need, and communicate it to your analysts and get their input.

Company policy on type of technology used also plays an important aspect. You will lhardly find banks building their banking portals using php or other open-source development tools. The reason is simple, if my bank app gets hacked or a bug is found, who will be held responsible?

Thanks guys. A key area is security and having talked with a few guys they had different views about which platform offers more security. So i decided to seek your opinions.

kints:

Thanks guys. A key area is security and having talked with a few guys they had different views about which platform offers more security. So i decided to seek your opinions.

Try .NET , You can have Coders with different language backgrounds such as C# which is the Java of .NET and VB. NET as well as J# and C++ developers on the same team and building the same application.

I do know many banks now run on .NET here, J.P Morgan Chase is one of the latest on the list to move to the .NET platform. I have not quite worked extensively with Java but the flexibility offered by .NET is something a lot of organizations now like to harness.

Kint, I am trying to understand the justification for this project as bank customers can view their account balances and transfer money Online real time on their bank sites, Switch sites, ATM machines and even Point of sales Terminals.Bearing in mind that not all cardholders/bank customers has access to the internet unlike ATMs and POS terminals , how will this venture really genarate fund.

I certainly agree with most of the folks that .NET platform is probably the best platform to go for.

With the newly released Windows Server 2008 added security, virtualisation, etc feature integrated within it, the .NET platform would even make web application even better than before.

But according to reviews, JAVA is also suppose to be extremely powerful as well

I think you should go the java route ,
You'll be creating an Enterprise application that would service thousands of users , Unix is always the attractive option for any major technology adopter (Banks definitely fall into this category). You need a technology that would scale well on Unix (Please lets not hear talks of MONO , )

With java you can leverage on technologies from IBM, SUN, BEA ,ORACLE ,RED HAT etc.
with .NET the only player worth noting is MS.

this is not a java vs. .NET thingy, i think java is just, simply the best choice, both tactically and strategically for you.

(I've got loads of experience selling e-banking to banks, windows is usually a no go area!)

php is thw way to go

im interested

by the way e-banking doesn't really refer to banks alone

by the way e-banking doesn't really refer to banks alone

Correct me if i'm wrong, but you want to manage accounts with funds tied to them ,

Well you have a good point (PFA, microFinance, Insurance, etc.)

The only thing that separates this companies from banks is the size of their IT budget ,

PHP ? any thing is possible these day ,

For Banking I would stay away from PHP. I mean the very fact that it is opensource makes me cringe to think of a bank that uses php to handle my sensitive data. I would prefer to use a bank/organization that runs a seriously enterprise level banking system.

"I mean the very fact that it is opensource makes me cringe to think of a bank that uses php to handle my sensitive data. I would prefer to use a bank/organization that runs a seriously enterprise level banking system."

Bros what would you consider "a seriously enterprise level banking system" ?

Personally i consider php in the same category as gwbasic - great for quick hacks, not serious work. However for you to imply that opensource technology is inferior, man i bow to your knowledge!

Please google a lil bit on software security and u will quickly find out that the implementation language has nothing to do with how secure the application is. E.g buffer overflows were the most common application venerabilities and that happens the most in asm, c, c++ code.
There are all sorts of other attacks that can be leveled against software especially web application, sql injection, denial of service, xss.

Please lets go easy on the FUD!

@Ghenghis
"this is not a java vs. .NET thingy, i think java is just, simply the best choice, both tactically and strategically for you. "
If i had to chose between java and .Net i would go with Java, but that said if i had a choice, i wouldnt use Java,
but i certainly wouldn't use php either!

edayo:

"I mean the very fact that it is opensource makes me cringe to think of a bank that uses php to handle my sensitive data. I would prefer to use a bank/organization that runs a seriously enterprise level banking system."

Bros what would you consider "a seriously enterprise level banking system" ?

Personally i consider php in the same category as gwbasic - great for quick hacks, not serious work. However for you to imply that opensource technology is inferior, man i bow to your knowledge!

Please google a little bit on software security and u will quickly find out that the implementation language has nothing to do with how secure the application is. E.g buffer overflows were the most common application venerabilities and that happens the most in asm, c, c++ code.
There are all sorts of other attacks that can be leveled against software especially web application, sql injection, denial of service, xss.

Please lets go easy on the FUD!

@Ghenghis
"this is not a java vs. .NET thingy, i think java is just, simply the best choice, both tactically and strategically for you. "
If i had to chose between java and .Net i would go with Java, but that said if i had a choice, i wouldnt use Java,
but i certainly wouldn't use php either!

Do you mind point to the very line in my post where I print that cause it is opensource means it is inferior?? I would love to see that particular line.

"I mean the very fact that it is opensource makes me cringe"

Please help me a little bit, just how is the part of your post meant to be translated,

Bros this is english oh!

P.S: my post wasn't meant to antagonize you, that said, i stand by my initial position,

edayo:

"I mean the very fact that it is opensource makes me cringe"

Please help me a little bit, just how is the part of your post meant to be translated,

Bros this is english oh!

P.S: my post wasn't meant to antagonize you, that said, i stand by my initial position,

So what dictionary are you using there for this one?? Cause I know the meaning of the word CRINGE , I still do not see how it has anything to do with your idea of php being inferior. I still ask that you show me where in my post I made such a claim. Do you go around putting words into people's mouths or something Cause I am puzzled here, trying to understand how Cringe suddenly translates "INFERIOR"?

Guys ,

no fighting ,pleaseee,

The truth is Organizations (mostly late adopters) don't like solutions without a viable economic model backing it up i.e Is somebody making money from this technology,
if yes then there not likely to stop developing it.


The above observation doesn't eliminate the fact that a lot of open source products have been fore runners in the services they provide, but it will also be noted that the success of many open source apps depend on the big players coming into the game once the product has been proven to be viable (technically speaking).

e.g Sun and IBM, Linux and IBM,NOVELL, Jboss and Red Hat, Spring and BEA.

So by all means use open source products (java is now open source ) ,but in the scenario under discussion use future proof technologies that have been proven to work ,

a guy at the last php conference works in a bank and they use php

most bank sites are done wt php

hackers and gurus are the ones who create php therefore its more secure

just like linux is more secure than i dare say Vista

If u use Zend, there's support in naija

recently. microsoft's website was hacked by one saudi guy, and they used d asp and
.NET u guys are talkin of

i bow for java though

PHP rocks!

webguru:

a guy at the last php conference works in a bank and they use php

most bank sites are done wt php

hackers and gurus are the ones who create php therefore its more secure

just like linux is more secure than i dare say Vista

If u use Zend, there's support in naija

recently. microsoft's website was hacked by one saudi guy, and they used d asp and
.NET u guys are talkin of

i bow for java though
PHP rocks!

1) Bank Sites in what country

2) Just cause a software is developed by hackers does not make it mor secure. Infact, microsoft has a bunch of hackers working on it's OS as well.

3) Java and .NET happen to run on similar platforms. Infact if you have ever heard of C#, any Java developer would tell you it is just as powerful as Java is. It is the .NET version of Java. .NET is now cross platform, meaning you can run your Java on .NET

There is enterprise ware and there is small business and small shop ware. Have you heard of Linux, Red Hat, Unix?? Do you know why they are now used by major companies who actually now spend money to use them instead of going out there for free ware to run their business?? There is a reason and that is one of the reasons why I say a bank running on freeware technology makes me cringe.

@Kobojunkie
"There is a reason and that is one of the reasons why I say a bank running on freeware technology makes me cringe."
I'm really really trying, but for the life of me, i cant figure out this reason[/] that makes you [i]cringe, on this, is would you please tell us in plain terms for dummies like my self to understand?

Bros biko don't mind the tone of my post - i'm a tease cant help it!

But really - I'd like to understand ur position on this what is it about an enterprise or bank using freeware/opensource that bugs you so (oops! makes you cringe? ) as you have pointed out there are great opensource solutions with enterprise support; Red Hat Linux is a good example you mentioned, another example that comes to mind is SUN's reason for buying MYSQL

@webguru
As bros Kobojunkie so succinctly put it, Which bank, which country? I'd love to meet the CIO/CTO that put his neck on the line for that one, a php webbanking application, really??

For the record, is it technicaly feasible/possible to build a secure, scalable e-banking solution can be built in php, yes. but for a whole lot of reasons (some valid some not) its not expedient.

Here is my point, A solution is only as good as the (skill/experience/knowledge/integrity/vision etc of the) people who put it together, and yes although the technology utilized will have impact, its not the key to the issue, the people who created it are,

Cheers!

i am pleased to inform you that skye bank uses php on their site

i shld list others bt a top bank like that shld suffice

and i hope u know that they have one of the best online banking

Well, now I know one reason why I should stay away from Skye Bank regardless of supposed ranking and what not.

@webguru Are you sure they use php for their banking app or their corporate site ?

PHP is good for fast web site prototyping but i don't think its the ideal choice for an enterprise app , at least not from the middle tier to the EIS.

What kind of middle tier architecture would be used in a php implementation ?

Because they used php for the website does NOT mean they used that for the web application. I am sure because when u logged in to their site and u saw . php, u assumed they are using that for the web application (the two are not the same). Though I don't know what they used for the app, I doubt if it is in php.

@edayo

Here is my point, A solution is only as good as the (skill/experience/knowledge/integrity/vision etc of the) people who put it together, and yes although the technology utilized will have impact, its not the key to the issue, the people who created it are,

-- good job, I think that's sufficient to drive the nail home.

so a website is not part of a web application

are there no apis for middle tier applications

@WebGuru

Most times you find that the core motivation for creating a web site is different from a web application ,

if the primary motivation is for advertisements then i'd call it just a website ,
if the motivation is to provide services or/and integrate with an EIS layer then its web app (please note all web apps are also websites)

PHP is good for websites
not cool for webapps ,its too stringy , you'd get all tangle up as the yarn grows ,