Which is better in chess openings 'e4' or 'd4' from white ?

e4! is best by test

agreed

Why do people think coke is better?

It's really about which one you like to play more, not the soundness, which is equal except black has dangerous ideas if he picks the sicilian. In d4 the attacks can still come and white generally has the initiative, it just takes longer to build up an attack and more positional ideas are usually used rather than just direct attack. You should play them both and see which one you prefer.

I think they are equal. I choose e4 because it is a tad more logical

1. e4 was claimed the best by Bobby Fischer, I usually play this...afterall he is the best chess player ever.

Not true. With d4 d5 c4 white has just as much pressure. And the fact that it can castle earlier is completely irrelevant. And don't play a move just because someone thinks it's the best move! This is an absolutely terrible idea! Fischer played e4 because it was in his style, not because it was actually best. If you don't have this style, then it's not the right choice. Kasparov and karpov were also very strong and they favored d4.

Well, one benefit to d4, is that you don't have to deal with the nasty Sicilian Defense.

I actually like playing both sides of the Sicilian:)

Delayed Alapin as White against 2...Nc6, and I tend to play the Paulsen variation or similar as Black (I play the Tarrasch Defense against the QGD).

I'm thinking about learning the English better as well.

e4

I like d4, but that is probably just because I am much better versed in it.

1. e4 would be better if the sicilian didn't have such good odds against it so statistically 1. d4 is better, but really its only better if you feel comforable playing in the positions it offers

Neither. c4 is the only way to fly!

And why is castling earlier irrelevant again? Please note I said they were equal; that I choose e4 myself. I find it much easier to develop my pieces to active squares, CASTLE, have space and central control. Also, I can't play Ruy with 1.d4! Back to the point, unless you are a GM, I will not believe you if you say that e4 is better than d4 or vice versa (Of course this forum isn't regarding stylistic decisions).

Also I think some others are alluding to d4 as a shortcut to theory... it avoids the sicilian. This may not be the case since there are a myriad of options for black against d4.

1.e4, best by test. -Bobby Fischer.

But I don't open with 1.e4. even though I'm an aggresive player. I simply open with 1.d4 because I don't want to risk an opening which have been analyzed to death. 

Openings that start with both d4 and e4 have been analyzed to death.  If you don't like the fact that an opening has been analyzed to death, play an early novelty:)

Most Sicilian players play as though they've never seen a delayed Alapin (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3) in their lives:)

I like smileys:)

Do you:?

I don't feel that the Sicilian ought to be scary enough to keep people from playing e4; the Sicilian is not an easy ticket to victory against stronger opponents, and if you are playing Black and choose the Sicilian there are plenty of ways to make mistakes that cost you the game.  I'm not saying that the Sicilian is not challenging to meet, though.

As I said before, there are plenty of d4 players and plenty of e4 players who are rated over 2600 FIDE (in fact, the current World Champion, Viswanathan Anand, has played both openings in World Championship play), so both must be fully playable with proper understanding.  I feel that I lack proper understanding of how to play the White side of d4, so I stick with e4 for now.

1.e4 coke ;)

Kasparov and Karpov are two more recent world champions who used 1.e4 and 1.d4 interchangeably.  Fischer was the only truly great player who was married to one move.  Other than the 6th and 8th games in '72(Taking Spassky by surprise) he used other moves only infrequently against weaker opposition.  If you are truly stronger--as he proved to be against all comers--the element of surprise is of little consequence.  They knew what he would play but were helpless to make any real use of that knowledge.  Fischer had original analysis in virtually every opening, according to Fine.  He had a limited arsenal but he did his homework religiously by studying developments even in lines he knew he would never play into.  With all that said: the one that is better--for you--is whichever your style or understanding produces better results.  Some vary just to keep opponents off balance or to expand their knowledge or just for variety's sake.  Ihave been playing 1.e4 exclusively for some years now, while studying some other systems.  If you play a lot, why not use each a while and see which seems to work best for YOU.

These are just stylistic opinions. I actually think that it's easier to get central control with d4 because the c pawn itself is pressuring d5. Early castling (really by one move) is not important because white is not in any particular danger and if he was he could still do it nearly as quickly. And I do believe that d4 is a bit safer but still aggressive with white. It does avoid the sicilian and ruy lopez (it's good for white but the sicilian and ruy lopez combined are just an absolute beast, plus black has ...c6, ...e6, ...g6 and so on). Against d4, black's main moves are just ...d5 and ...Nf6 although ...f5 is sometimes played. Then the main options are just the nimzo indian, King's indian, Benoni, and grunfeld against 3 Nc3.

1.e4 "Best by Test"... Bobby Fischer

In one move, you occupy and control the Center, while releasing the Queen and King's Bishop for development. No other move does as much! If you believe development and control of the Center are main objectives in the Opening, Then it would be Silly to play anything else.

e4 has to be played at move one, because it is not supported by any of the pieces (like the Queens pawn) and may require preparation or not be possible later.

Any Questions?  ;-)