The journey of the Internet began with mundane HTML, which was in fact a markup language that was meant for making static Web pages. As the Internet spread all over the world and the usage grew rapidly, the web developers and programmers felt the need to use more powerful and flexible programming languages. The robust web programming languages like python, Perl and PHP came into vogue owing to the need for developing interactive content and making websites more functional. The web programmers nowadays have a huge number of options to choose from when it comes to internet programming languages. Basically, web programming languages can be broadly segregated into two groups- proprietary and open-source.
The web programming languages that are used extensively by the developers providing web programming services these days owe their origin to previous generation scripting and shell languages in most cases. The web programmers prefer various types of programming languages and they have their reasons for sticking with the chosen ones. Some of them may develop web apps in PHP while others swear by ASP.NET. At times, a web programmer may possess knowledge of several web programming languages but he may concentrate in one.
PHP is an open source web programming language with its dedicated community and proponents. It can be customized for any OS. Despite the emergence of newer programming languages PHP has consolidated its user base over the years. Many web programmers also rely on JSP or Java Server pages for developing web apps. The embedded Java code needs server side execution following which the page is sent to the web browser. JSP is not platform dependent and it is not dependent on Microsoft technologies. The advantage is that Java programs made in Unix environment can run on Mac and Windows without any hiccup and compatibility issues. JavaScript should not be confused with JSP though. JavaScript does not require server side implementation and its execution takes place in the web browser itself. It is mainly used for adding interactivity to web sites.
Python is another object oriented robust website programming language that is used by a huge number of web application developers worldwide. Initially built on the UNIX platform it can run seamlessly in Mac and Windows PCs as well. Its syntax is somewhat similar to that of C++ and C, but it does not adhere to those languages deeply. Compared to Java it is simpler in nature.
Originally developed by Allaire way back in the 1990s, Coldfusion is now owned and distributed by Adobe Inc. This language allows the web programmers to develop database-powered and dynamic Web applications. It has CFML, its individual markup language. The newbie web developers prefer using ColdFusion as it makes developing web sites a straightforward affair. The 10th version of ColdFusion supports top databases including Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.
Perl is another widely used website programming language that has thousands of followers. It is not very graphics friendly and secured though. Similar to other open source languages Perl has benefited a lot from ongoing developments and research. It is often used for making single websites fast.
There are other alternatives available for programmers including the likes of ASP.Net and Ruby. Choosing a language is totally up to the developer. He can pick one that works best in his preferred OS environment.
Arjun Dasgupta has been long associated with Quality Web Programming, a reputed web programming company. He has authored a number of articles on different types of web programming services.
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