[ghqwerty]

personally i would choose to use php but add lots of ajax functionality.

i dont have much experience with jave so i cant comment much on that but php and ajax is very easy to pick up and with a good balance can be used to do just about anything you want it to

[MakDeveloper]

If i use PHP then are there any good php frameworks? or should i just rely on PHP Ajax calls directly to database?

[nick1200]

I have made a rpg in php
The whole site is made in php
and it all works fine and has a lot of users so yea
id pick php over java script if u mean java script
There are sites out there that are built in java there whole site
There are tools out there ( firebug )
That lets you tamper with java script

But if you know java go for java if you don't know php or java go for php

and when i say java i mean java not java script java script is the worse thing to build a game on seen has everything is stored on the users computer

Hope ive helped

[MakDeveloper]

I have mostly worked on business web applications using Java/JSP/Struts/Ajax so i was wondering if i can use the same technology for game development also, or should i switch to PHP/Ajax, as learning it wont be a problem.

Also what database they use behind web based games like Mafia wars, as they have so many users, can MySQL handle such loads of users?

[macosxnerd101]

If you are really experienced with Java and J2EE technologies, then that might be the way to go. Having worked with PHP and seen a little of J2EE, I would say PHP will be a lot easier to work with as it abstracts so much that Java/J2EE does not. However, you also sacrifice a ton of freedom and control. The choice is yours, and if you have some familiarity with PHP, I would encourage that option because it is relatively easy to work in and doesn't take much to pick up if you are comfortable with Java.