I want to know what people think is the best language for web applications. I'm not talking about AJAX or anything client-side. Here's a list and I want to see what everyone chooses. I know I missed, please tell me what!
ASP
ActiveX
CGI
Java
PHP
Perl
Python
Ruby
VBScript
Thank you
PHP is the best for web programming (does it even have other uses except that?). It's open-source, widely used, runs on different Operating Systems and Server platforms, and has built-in support for nearly every database around. 
It would definitely be PHP.
It is the widest resource with which one can create not only Web Pages but Web Applications also such as Forums, Blogs, Guestbooks, etc.
PHP is my personal favourite, but it all depends on what you are looking to achieve.
I like PHP, but i don't know the other like ASP, AJAX, XHTML...
My weblog, websites are in PHP, it's more easy to me!
PHP is the best and simple..
Python and perl are advance.
always php, its easy to use and fairly easy to learn.
plus a good magority of websites such as shops or auction sites use the php format as the main codeing.
To nitpick: ActiveX and CGI are not programming languages, and both ActiveX and VBscript are client-side technologies. 
I would choose PHP because it is easy to learn For average, everyday web systems, PHP is great. It works, it's simple, and it's got a syntax a guy familiar with C and work with. Perl with CGI is also a good option if you are already a Unix guy and don't want to learn a new language to do something simple. PHP will work for whatever you're doing most likely.
For the more advanced things, Perl or Python are really good. IRC and Web bots and more critical content management that have special needs.
If interpereted language doesn't cut it, you can use C like Slash does and actually create a program interfacing with perl to create a highly stable, long running content management system for sites which have high amounts of traffic. eBay and Slashdot have content mangagement systems using compiled code interfaced with Perl+CGI. Chances are you will never need this.
Definitely skip on ASP, ActiveX, VBScript, and Ruby. Java can sometimes be good, but it's a real nuisance most of the time because it requires a binary to run in the background which has a significant amount of bloat. It's not worth it. Ruby is simple, but its has more bloat and in web it seems to be considerably slower, sort of like Java, but instead of messing up C, it messes up Lisp.
PHP: it's free and a lot of important institutions use it. If you go to sites like wikipedia, or http://www.berkeley.edu/, they use PHP. And we can see the power this language has on these sites. PHP is my personal favourite, but it all depends on what you are looking to achieve.
_________________
| asim wrote: |
PHP is my personal favourite, but it all depends on what you are looking to achieve.
_________________ |
Is there an echo in here? 
I feel that PHP is the best... I always use PHP for my websites... because,
1. It is open source
2. Cross platform
3. and the database management is easy..
so PHP is the best..
I think PHP and Ruby are the best because they have simple syntax. But I prefer PHP over Ruby, because PHP is more commonly supported and easier to set up.
I like using PHP for web programming because it’s free and you can find cheaper web hosting for PHP than for other programming languages. It is also the easiest to learn because it is simple and there are a lot of tutorials and free scripts, it is easier to get support on forums…
I was using JSP for some time and I liked it too.
when i started web programming i started with asp....found it challenging and exciting....then
came across php....and got very lazy....lots of ready made scripts...and iam puting on weight
I guess PHP wins in this poll... but seriously, the verdict should come from really busy programmers using ASP / JSP / PHP almost equally. I guess there wouldn't be many like that
I've never used anything except PHP, so I wouldn't say anything here.
PHP all the way.
Python & Ruby are also equally good.
PHP is by far the best. Like RicTee said, it is widely used and it runs on a assortment of operating systems. PHP is very easy to learn, and it is very flexible when coming to web creation.
i go the same asnwer as well.... its pHP
For me, the best web programming is PHP. Firstly, because it's free. It is also very easy to use and learn. It fits greatly with HTML and Javascript. Also, it is very scalable.
Obviously PHP.. numero uno...
I hope every one will say the same here..
Though I am more familiar with PHP, I believe in the right tool for the right job logic.
Each programming language has it's faults and advantages.
I would say I use PHP and Ruby most often, since they are flexible and easy to maintain.
This forum is written in PHP, don't you know? That's why it's called PHPBB - it stands for PHP Bulletin Board.
| RiCtee wrote: |
| PHP is the best for web programming (does it even have other uses except that?). It's open-source, widely used, runs on different Operating Systems and Server platforms, and has built-in support for nearly every database around. |
ofcourse PHP has other uses than that... PHP can be used for CLI programming too.. (though rarely)
PS: My favorite is PHP
