Web Scripting Languages:
While Markup languages such as HTML, VRML, XML enable users to create static documents, Scripting languages allow for creation of dynamic content. Scripting, where actions need to some document elements to handle certain events from the user can be “server side” or “client side”.
Client Side scripting
refers to scripts that are executed by the client which is the browser. The most popular client side scripting language is JavaScript. Java Applets can be client side or server side depending on which machine executes it.
Advantages:
a) Response to the interaction is more immediate.
b) Services are secure as no information is transmitted to any other machine.
Disadvantages:
a) Limited in scope and features.
b) Dependent on the client browser supporting the server side script.
Server Side scripting
refers to the process of sending information to another computer (the server) where it will be processed and the results returned to the requesting client or the browser.
Advantages:
a) Complex processes are often more efficient since the program is not downloaded to the client side each time.
b) Browser or client independent.
Disadvantages:
a) There are security risks while transmitting sensitive information across the network.
b) The response is not immediate as information is transmitted to and from the server.
Some Popular Scripting Languages:
Javascript is the most popular Client side scripting Language by far. It is used to create sophisticated and interactive front end that can be executed by the browser itself and does not require data to be transmitted to the server. Examples of it's use are displaying dynamic HTML, validating the contents of a form before submitting it to the server etc.
The bulk of web scripting is done server side given the complexity of the processes that need to run.
There are many flavors of server side scripting.
ASP - Active Server Pages
Active Server Pages is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. The advantage of ASP is that it is very popular due to the availability of Windows Development environment worldwide so finding programmers to work on it is usually easier. However, the downside is that it is not platform independent and was intended to work only on Microsoft platforms.
Chili!Soft ASP
Microsoft's ASP technology runs only on Windows platforms. However, Chili!Soft ASP is a software product that allows ASP to run on UNIX and some other platforms.
JSP – Java Server Pages
JSP is a server-side technology developed by Sun. With JSP you can create dynamic web pages by putting Java code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. Since JSP uses Java, the technology is not restricted to any server-specific platform.
PHP – PHP- Hypertext Preprocessing.
Just like ASP, PHP is a server-side scripting language which allows you to create dynamic web pages by putting script code inside your HTML pages. The code is executed by the web server before the page is returned to the browser. As it is very easy to learn and deploy, PHP is one of the fastest growing scripting languages today.
Cold Fusion
Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web pages. Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.
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