I know that they are all scripting languages. However, I'm not sure what each one is. Could someone please explain them to me?

__________________
You're not supposed to be looking at this.

Thanks for dropping by Conkermaniac...

In my very limited understanding, CGI is the support needed to run Server Side Scripting of which perl, PHP, ASP (VBScript/JavaScript), Cold Fusion (CFML) and even JSP is then the preferred Scripting language of ur choice.

• perl is still, i think, the most popular around.
  
  PHP is open source, gaining popularity fast.
  
  ASP = Microsoft, need i say more?
  
  Cold Fusion = Macromedia

All of them allow u to do fantastic stuff on ur website using databases.

Of course I am biased, my vote is for PHP or both, perl & PHP.

I actualy use perl for my message board, which is currently being reworked, but I like it. I am going to learn perl this coming year (2002) but I really don't know any other languages. I think that whatever you use, if it is a good script, you will like it.
Nick

I'm guessing you design your own message board, nniehoff? I think I understand it now. I just looked around and learned the basics of PHP. However, it seems that you must have a database in order to get something like a form or board working without that "pop-up" window from Microsoft coming up.

With Perl forums (ex. Ikonboard), in which dir can I see all the posts made? Are they uploaded to the server and can be removed through FTP?

__________________
You're not supposed to be looking at this.

I use Ikonboard which actually uses DBM, MySQL, or PostgreSQL, its your choice. Yes you do need somekind of a database to keep the posts in.
Nick

Do you still want more info?

why not? as u can see from the pageviews, some topics in here are actually more like a FAQ as well

Perl:
Scripting language that is iether server side or client side. Runs in conjunction with CGI scripts (also called CGI in many cases). File extension is .pl

PHP:
Recursive acronym for 'PHP: Hypertext Preprosser.' It is entirely server-side and presents pages in HTML. File extension is .php or .html or .htm . More informationis located at http://www.php.net .

ASP:
Acronym for 'Active Server Pages.' Does nearlly exactly the same thing as PHP but doesn't handle forms as well. Microsoft product. More information available at http://www.microsoft.com . extension=.asp

Cold Fusion:
Same as above. http://www.macromedia.com extension=.cfm

Thats about all I know i guess.