|
|
Choosing a Scripting Language
First Online: March 10, 2001
Page Last Updated: February 20, 2013
An important issue to consider before choosing the web hosting platform is
how much of the website is dynamically created and which scripting tool will be
used to generate them. ASP and PHP are the two most prominent (PERL is another)
scripting technologies. We use both of them at Kamat's Potpourri, and have
listed the advantages and weaknesses of each.
| Active Server Pages |
PHP |
Strengths
- Typically is free with most hosting options as long as you choose a Windows NT or
Windows 2000 based hosting service
- Very easy to get started. The complexities of request, response and cookies are nicely
encapsulated
- The real strength is that it comes from Microsoft, and works well with their other
offerings such as WebServer (Microsoft Internet Information Server), and Database Products
(Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server)
Weaknesses
- Beyond read/write, it is hard to to complicated scripts. So one has to rely on readymade
tools (called components) to do sophisticated server side computing. Without them,
can't send mail, can't read other pages, can't parse XML or use regular expressions....
Our PICTURESearch is based on Microsoft Active Server technology
|
Strengths
- Opensource, free and cross platform
- Feature rich language designed for server side web scripting
- Superior performance comparable to Perl and Python.
Weaknesses
- Not every host offers it.
- The only database it works well is the MySQL Server, which not many people use
Our Recommend Tool, Self-Service Licensing,Guest Book, Culture Explorer are built using the PHP technology. |
| Scripting Decision Making Made Easy
|
- If your application is database driven, and if it is a Microsoft Database Choose ASP,
else choose PHP.
- If your platform is Unix, choose PHP
- If your platform is Windows, and no database is involved, choose PHP
|
Links:
| Practical Articles on Website
Building |
|
|
|
|
|
Behind The
Scenes 
