In my previous column I mentioned that I have known many startups that spent too much money on initial hardware and software, leaving little money available to carry the company through the first year or two. IT will always want the best it can get. However, this needs to be balanced against a budget and a realistic appraisal of what the equipment has to do. One of the greatest strengths of the Internet is the availability of excellent free software that is more than able to power Web sites both at startup and during future growth.

In this column I will be looking at the software that enables modern Web sites to perform their magic--scripting languages--specifically server-side scripting languages. This distinction is important, as JavaScript works on both the server-side and the client-side. The JavaScript you can see with the "View Source" command in your browser is a client-side scripting language. Server-side scripting languages are invisible to your browser's "View Source" command. Server-side scripting languages also differ from programming languages in both their level of complexity and what they can be made to do.

Java is the only language I will discuss that fits into both categories. That said, let's list the major server-side scripting language players (in alphabetical order):

ASP, ColdFusion, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Tcl.

All of these scripting languages can be made to work with the major operating systems (Windows, Unix, and Linux) and Web Servers (Apache, IIS, Netscape Server). These scripting languages, among many more, enable Web developers to deliver dynamic, database-driven Web sites that can be personalized and rapidly updated as changes are implemented.

It is important to note that these languages can be made to work with the systems listed above. Enabling some of the languages above on all platforms can be costly. The only truly free and scalable cross-platform scripting languages above are Java, Perl, PHP and Python. While ASP/VBScript can be made to run on platforms other than Microsoft Windows through third-party software, it is mostly used only in the Microsoft Windows environment.

Here is a feature overview of the most common scripting languages being used on corporate Web sites.

PHP PHP.net is my personal favorite for rapid development and deployment. Now in version 4, PHP runs as an ISAPI plug-in with IIS and Netscape, and as an Apache module. It has native database connectivity with most of the major databases including Oracle, Sybase, MS SQL, MySQL and Postgres. PHP is released as open-source software.

Perl Perl.org has recently announced version 6 and is arguably the most commonly used scripting language on the Internet. Perl runs on just about everything and supports native database connectivity to most of the major databases. Perl is also open source.

ASP support.Microsoft.com on IIS has grown from a synonym of VBScript to encompass any scripting language which has a COM-compliant scripting engine installed. In this sense VBScript, Jscript, Perl, PHP and Python are all ASP languages.

ColdFusion Allaire.com by Allaire is the only commercial scripting language in this list. To properly parse ColdFusion tags, you need to buy ColdFusion server, which costs $1,300 to $5,000 depending on your needs. ColdFusion Server is available for most major platforms, including a recently released Linux and HP/UX version. ColdFusion boasts ODBC database connectivity while ColdFusion Server supports native connectivity to Oracle, Informix, DB2, and Sybase. ColdFusion is proprietary software.

Java Java.Sun.com is increasingly being used as a scripting language despite the continued standards battle both within Sun and between Sun and Microsoft. Supported by Apache, IIS and Netscape, Java is an extremely powerful language that boasts native database connectivity to most major databases. Although Java is free, Java developers usually require development software that can be costly, and they tend to demand higher salaries. Java is proprietary software.

The scripting language you choose should depend on many factors including your staff's skill-level, budget and Web site requirements. Do you need to connect to a database?

Do you need secure transactions?

Do your scripted applications need to work only in one environment, or will they have to run on many different operating systems and Web Servers?

These questions must be answered before your organization sets up its Web site. From your content producers to IT to Sales, the entire Web development team should be brought in to make these crucial early decisions. And as I mentioned earlier, these decisions do not need to break the bank. Most of the scripting languages mentioned are free.

Garth Gillespie is architect and chief technologist of computeruser.com.