[alanfranzoni]

PHP has shortcomings, for sure. And I'd probably scorn at people for using it for production-grade, "serious" tasks, and I'd be sure to find some security issues within their code (it's not just php, it's the libraries AND the coding style it promotes).

But for an hackaton? 36 hours to get something done? It may be totally be the best tool for the job.

[spacemanmatt]

If the only goal is really gone in 36 hours the hackathons are at fault. I would absolutely hope to walk away with something of value for my 36 hours, and not a pile of throw-away code.

It has been a long time since "throw away the prototype" also meant switch languages, databases, production OSes, version control systems, and library code. Modern languages are flexible enough to let you prototype rapidly with sturdy languages, front end and back.