advice What Programming Language is useful for a domainer?

[Sammy Jakes]

I have some free time now and I would like to learn coding.
I would like to know what programming language is useful for a domainer and what specific domaining problem can I solve with it?
Thanks

 

[BrandEntrance.com]

I am very sure. HTML, CSS, and Javascript works on Client Side, meanwhile PHP working on Server Side. two different things.

You can choose anything as you like for Server Side like PHP, Python, etc. but for Client Side the basic is HTML, CSS and Javascript

Update: Javascript works well on the server side too. Node.js works pretty good if you wear a helmet and some other important armour.

 

[TCK]

A domainer should focus on domaining. There are already a lot of platforms to learn and keep track of. For example, you have to keep track of your domain listings on the various mainstream marketplaces. Learning a new programming language is a multi-year endeavor. You only have a finite amount of time. If you learn anything, learn a CMS (content management system) and learn security. It will be a lot quicker.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

Neither HTML nor CSS is going to be of much use to domainers.

Probably more so than a programming language, most domainers would benefit from learning how to use formulas in spreadsheets and a sophisticated text editor, such as Sublime Text (including its keyboard shortcuts and regular expressions).

You'd be able to significantly increase your efficiency in dealing with large lists of domains.

We hope that helps.

Great shout regarding Sublime text. Ctrl+Shift+L for the win! (Multi line editing to add .com or another extension to the end of a list of words is very useful...). As a software dev and domainer that's certainly one of the tricks I keep in my arsenal and whip out frequently...

 

[TCK]

WordPress & Joomla

Cheers
Corey

FYI, those are not programming languages.

 

[TCK]

Additionally, you cannot use just one language to build a website. Dynamic websites (i.e. websites that use more than just HTML/CSS) need a combination of programming languages that include both server-side and browser-side languages. So if you use PHP (server-side), you will also need to utilize Javascript (browser-side). There is a method of updating pages that is called AJAX which combines different languages. So there is no one useful programming language. You need to be versed in a number of languages to be able to create complete websites.

SQL is a database querying language which is pretty much useless to know unless you also know a server-side programming language.

 

[kam]

I mainly use.net framework (vb.net c#) to develop my own software.

 

[TCK]

You can build a website just using HTML. I have done so.
You can use PHP without using Javascript. I have done so.
And who are you to tell someone to focus on domaining?
Designing web sites is a natural progression for domainers
and we all should be well rounded people, and continually evolving our skills.

Either you have very limited skills or are ignorant or both. Here's why:

First, I doubt you used PHP without also at least using HTML/CSS. If you use PHP but stay away from javascript means you are very limited in PHP and/or a lazy developer.

I didn't say domainers should not learn a programming language, but they should only dive into it if they are invested long term. It would make more sense, time-wise, to learn a CMS.

I don't know if it is a proven fact that "Designing web sites is a natural progression for domainers".

Finally, you have not addressed one single quote you copied of mine and explain why it is incorrect.

 

[BradWilson]

You can build a website just using HTML. I have done so.

Actually this is incorrect.

You have actually used HTML and CSS just not very well.

Also, since you added StatCounter and Google AdSense you are even using JavaScript.

The problem here is lumping everything together into one file and repeating that over and over.

Instead, keep each element separate.

For example:

• HTML for the structure
• CSS for the styling
• MySQL or some other database to store each record

Php or some other technology can then combine all of it together for you and take care of all the hidden details.

That's the smarter and best way to go.

So the easiest way to do this if you don't want to learn all the gory details and there are a ton of details, is to use a CMS like Wordpress.

 

[mr-x]

I have some free time now and I would like to learn coding.
I would like to know what programming language is useful for a domainer and what specific domaining problem can I solve with it?
Thanks

Start with PHP or Javascript. If you want to make big money, become an expert in ruby.

This is a good place to start. Lots of other resources. Feel free to ask me questions about PHP.
https://www.freecodecamp.org/

 

[BradWilson]

Neither HTML nor CSS is going to be of much use to domainers.

Probably more so than a programming language, most domainers would benefit from learning how to use formulas in spreadsheets and a sophisticated text editor, such as Sublime Text (including its keyboard shortcuts and regular expressions).

You'd be able to significantly increase your efficiency in dealing with large lists of domains.

We hope that helps.

Regarding text editors...

It appears Visual Studio Code is the leading FREE editor of choice these days and I'm now using it

Okay maybe 3rd ha

 

[BradWilson]

The most important language missing in the list is Excel (office) VBA.

Ha not according to Stack Overflow

VBA is the “most dreaded programming language” according to Stack Overflow in 2020.

But and this is a big but, according to this article VBA in 2020 – Where does it fit? it is still very popular under certain circumstances.

Conclusion

With tools that are available within Excel, such as Power Query as well as the tools that exist within the Power Platform, the number of use cases for VBA is declining.

Business users will still seek VBA based solutions, but this is primarily due to:

• Lack of permission provided by IT departments.
• Low awareness of alternative solutions to VBA.
• Lack of training on non-VBA based solutions in the Power Platform.

And that's EXACTLY why it's very important to understand WHY you NEED to use any tool before you get too far into learning it AND what other tools are also available to determine if it's worth the effort.

So, if all you need is to automate data in a spreadsheet, than VBA and Excel may work fine. At one time way back in the late 1990's I used it a lot and I liked it. But then I discovered other tools that worked better for me, and I never again thought about using VBA.

 

[BradWilson]

Interesting

Then, what would be the best programming languages needed for a dropcaching script?

The "best" depends on your preference as I said in my first comment.

Many people use Python for this type of task, other people PHP which is what I used for many many years, but now I like Node.js.

Here's a quick post that you might find helpful that uses Node.js

Domain Backordering using Node.js & Firebase Functions

I hope this helps.

 

[MKM]

Interesting

Then, what would be the best programming languages needed for a dropcaching script?

Before I even begin to address that question, there are a few topics that need to be touched upon to evaluate the available options.

If it is just about accessing the web-apis of a single registrar to automate the registration process, then most scripting languages are up to the task. But if you want to maximize your chances of sniping a popular name then you need to consider factors that help launch concurrent registration requests via multiple registrars. This is where parallel execution capabilities (such as multi-threaded execution) of the scripting language are important. There are automated testing tools that can simulate virtual users which come with their own scripting capabilities. Another way to achieve parallelism is through virtual containers, each with independent IP addresses. This would require knowledge of the scripting language supported by the underlying cloud provider for spinning up containers on-demand.

Typically, there are checks and balances (api keys, rate limiting, throttling) enforced by the registrars to avoid stressing their systems with such automated bulk requests while trying to catch multiple domains originating from a single user. So one may need to orchestrate this with a team of other users in an automated way. This is where the orchestration capabilities of distributing and monitoring the requests across multiple users and across registrars come into play.

Thus you may end up learning multiple scripting languages, each catering to a specific task (whether spinning up containers or simulating virtual users).

Of course, a serious drop-catcher would think beyond all that. They may explore having symbiotic partnerships directly with the registry and gain access to native APIs which are more efficient than the ones that are available publicly over HTTP via the registrars; even if it requires them to become a registrar themselves.

TLDR; if you have a less popular domain name to catch then any scripting language might get the job done, unless you have to compete with your peers. And once you start factoring in the competition, you can only hope to increase your chances by being able to initiate more requests than your next competitor or have a direct access to the registry.

 

[DN Playbook]

I checked off all I've ever really needed to know.
JavaScript, PHP, SQL, HTML / CSS

This is a fair load of skillset to learn. It is a wonderful world to traverse. But you need to have the determination and stay power to learn sufficiently to make it useful. It takes a certain character or personality to have the long term interest and dedication.

 

[oskaaay]

I suggest you to learn Javascript and Python

HTML, CSS, Javascript are Mandatory
Javascript Path : Native & OOP, then Node.js, React.js, Express.js
Python Path : Native & OOP, then Django or Flask

But I prefer PHP for years

You can create API for Domain Backorder or Get Domain Name Sales from NameBio,
Generate Domain Name by Suffix or Preffix
Etc.

Yeah, I support HTML, CSS and Javascript because as a programmer myself I discovered this the hard way due to jumping them to learn other things and eventually being forced to come back and take it in that order.

Those 3 are essential for frontend and as a domainer, you will deal more with frontend than anything else except you want to build something robust in the domain world then you can add other languages as you move​

HINT: When you start your journey with HTML, CSS and Javascript - learning other languages becomes more of a breeze because most languages have repetitive syntax like variables, function, if-statement, array, object, operator etc. and once you are exposed to it in Javascript....you will easily catch up with other languages...

Conclusion: Add a framework like React after Javascript and after that, you can go wild in the programming world. Also, learn PHP though not that useful in new advanced tech but it will likely help you to setup domain website like Wordpress and customize it to taste.

 

[BradWilson]

Based on the original questions asked, I'm going to attempt to give my best answer.

Q: "what programming language is useful for a domainer"
A: JavaScript - see below for details

Q: "what specific domaining problem can I solve with it?"
A: 1. Scraping websites, 2. API generated mini-sites, 3. Domain backordering script

Knowing JavaScript gives you a huge advantage as a domainer. I'll explain how below.

But first, I think most people aren't aware that JavaScript can also be used on the backend in the form of Node.js.

Node.js is actually JavaScript running on the server instead of the browser using the Chrome V8 engine. By the way, the Chrome V8 engine is actually open source and written in C++ so you could actually download it and make changes to it yourself if you want which is exactly what Node.js is doing.

Another point about Node.js is that it is really useful to learn because you only need to use one programming language JavaScript for your full stack which means learning just one technology to run everything on your website.

Of course you'll still need a few other technologies like HTML and CSS but pretty much everything else is JavaScript. You could even add your favorite JavaScript Framework like Nuxt or Quasar (which are based on Vue) and you'd be able to build some pretty amazing websites.

At this point I'll mention Typescript which is a superset of JavaScript and is also very popular. Basically Typescript adds type checking to JavaScript and helps to make JavaScript less error prone.

I'm currently working in the MEVN stack which is related to the MEAN stack the Angular version.

MEAN is a free and open-source JavaScript software stack for building dynamic web sites and web applications. Because all components of the MEAN stack support programs that are written in JavaScript, MEAN applications can be written in one language for both server-side and client-side execution environments.

Wikipedia

For me I prefer Vue over Angular so the A in MEAN is replaced with a V resulting in the MEVN stack.

The term MEVN is used to describe the 4 technologies that work extremely well together. MongoDB, Express.js, Vue and Node.js.

1. MongoDB is the database
2. Express.js is a Node.js framework
3. Vue is a JavaScript framework
4. Node.js is JavaScript used on the server

I recently discovered an amazing tool called MEVN CLI that helps you quickly and easily setup everything you need to get going with the MEVN stack.

Here's a great preview video of it if you want to check it out.

MEVN STACK TUTORIAL (MERN STACK KILLER?) // VUE.JS WITH MONGODB, Express, Node AND MEVN CLI

In this video, he sets up the MEVN stack using NUXT which is my preferred flavor of Vue but you could use standard Vue if you want.

BTW, Nuxt 3 was just released in public beta and it's looking so much easier to use and totally amazing.

So at the beginning of this comment, I made the claim that knowing JavaScript gives you a huge advantage as a domainer, and now I'll give 3 examples to support my claim.

1. Node.js is an excellent tool to use for scraping websites. By scraping websites you can gather keyword intelligence and sales data in whatever niche you need and that data will give you a huge advantage when promoting your domains.

Here's a great video and article to show how quick and easy it is to use Node.js for scraping.

Web Scraping in Node.js!

2. You can easily setup a MEVN stack website using common API's to grab content on different topics. There are 100's if not 1000's of different API's available where you can get the latest news, weather and sports as well as other specialty topics. The range of other topics could include new scientific advances, space projects, Crypto, Forex, Stocks and even Arts and Crafts plus many many more. Building fully functional mini-sites for your domains can increase their value and make it much easier to promote and command higher prices for your domains. You could even flip the websites for more profits.

3. Easily create a domain backordering script using Node.js as I have previously posted.

Domain Backordering using Node.js & Firebase Functions

 

[Sammy Jakes]

Learnt a lot

 

[john888]

Here's another saved "URL programming" example underutilized s

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZZkYDVRzWZI?rel=0&showinfo=0&autoplay=1

nice song.

 

[LUP]

Update: Javascript works well on the server side too. Node.js works pretty good if you wear a helmet and some other important armour.

Indeed, but i am talking javascript as client side.

If you saw my previous post you can understand

I suggest you to learn Javascript and Python

HTML, CSS, Javascript are Mandatory
Javascript Path : Native & OOP, then Node.js, React.js, Express.js
Python Path : Native & OOP, then Django or Flask

But I prefer PHP for years

You can create API for Domain Backorder or Get Domain Name Sales from NameBio,
Generate Domain Name by Suffix or Preffix
Etc.

 

[satsdifference.com]

Can anyone tell me the best programming language for making small websites or blogs.
And why?
Thank you

Front-end is html/javascript
I use blogger.com, its free, but more importantly instead of changing paid hosts all the time, the information has lasted there (No Geocities)

then as a domainer, can point to your own URL pages..

 

[Corey]

FYI, those are not programming languages.

I was answering an unanswered question posed! to help a fellow nper

Cheers
Corey

 

[TCK]

I was answering an unanswered question posed! to help a fellow nper

Cheers
Corey

Indeed. The question was about the best programming language. There seems to be a confusion between what is a programming language and a CMS. Your answer was fine and I think you understood what the poster meant as opposed to what s/he wrote.

And if we are going to be specific, HTML/CSS in the poll are not programming languages either. These are markup languages to determine styling of a web page. Similar to what a word processor uses to style a document.

 

[TCK]

I have made dozens of web sites using nothing but HTML.

An examples is :

https://www.fiction.us

You can't learn everything at once so start simply.
HTML is the first thing you should master.
Not that I feel that I have mastered it.
I first decide what I want to do.
Then I figure out how to do it.
I do nothing more.
I am not trying to learn web design.
I am designing web sites.

As you make changes to your HTML web sites, you will
run into a problem, and that problem is the cache.
You will make changes to your HTML web pages, ftp those
changes to your host server, and then visit your web site
with your home computer, and you won't see the changes
that you just made. That is because your home computer
will display the web page that is saved in your cache
rather then the web page that is currently in your host server.
You can get around that for a while by pushing Control F5.
But, eventually, even Control F5 won't defeat your cache.
And of course the people who visit
your web site regularly will have the same cache problem
and you can't tell them to type Control F5.

At this point you will want to design your web pages using PHP.
Your home computer does not store PHP code in the cache and
you can find anything you want to know about PHP online.
When I can, I design in HTML first, and then write code in PHP
which creates that same HTML web page. This is what I am doing
with...

You can do much with just HTML and CSS. That's how I got started. In the beginning I used to code in Notepad then FTP the files to the server.

There is a beauty in keeping sites simple. Learning htaccess is also very helpful.

You are getting a lot of horrible advice here.
Horrible advice is what you should expect in Namepros.
Get used to it.

Rather than making a sweeping statement such as this one, it would be helpful to your NP'er friends if you would specify and correct the bad advice.

 

[TCK]

How about I just quote all the things that you said that were incorrect.

Fine by me. Now, would you care explain why those quotes are incorrect? That is a fair ask, don't you think?

 

[Samer]

i found vb.net to be the most useful

.net!! Gasp