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Web Design Reference Guide

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Server Programming Basics

Last updated Oct 17, 2003.

By Meryl Evans

With HTML you can create a Web site that meets the site's goals and visitors' needs. However, add in a dollop of server programming and you've got a delicious recipe for an interactive and dynamic Web site.

Just like there are different types of sugars as in brown sugar, dark brown sugar, white sugar, and powdered sugar, there are plenty of options of server programming. Selecting the right one depends on the organization's needs, the server's capabilities, the Web site's goals, and the market needs. Some people use only open source software because the code, manual, updates, and support are usually free.

If you ask 100 programmers to name their favorite programming language, you'll get many different answers. Here we'll be covering the basics of each programming language to explain their capabilities and their differences. Other sections within InformIT intimately cover a specific programming language, and that's where to go if you're interested in learning more about it. See our References section at the end of this section for links to related topics on InformIT and elsewhere.