Tag Archive 'Perl'

Web Hosting With PHP Scripts

Getting your own website as never been easier. These days, web hosting providers are abundant, offering the ability to instantly create dynamic content at an incredibly low price. You have the option to host a large gallery of photos, products and services for your online business, implement a blog to add popularity to your site and much more. With all of these amazing features, one tends to forget about the resources used as the basis for the actual web pages. In this article we will take an overview look at one of the oldest and most commonly used web-based scripting languages, PHP.

What is PHP?

PHP is the acronym for Personal Home Pages, though it was originally derived from Hypertext Preprocessor. Throughout your search for a web host, you find that many advertise PHP in their packages, as it remains the basic building block for many developers. Its syntax is quite similar to that of the Perl language, one that is both very easy to learn and apply. One reason why PHP is so widely used is because it supports the most common databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle. Aside from creating traditional web pages, it is also frequently incorporated into external libraries to create PDF applications.

The Necessitates of PHP Hosting

If you are looking to make a small investment with your first website, choosing a web host that uses PHP scripts is a good option. This type of hosting is inexpensive yet very useful. PHP is perfect for a site built to host a blog as it requires much less bandwidth than more dynamic scripts like ASP. PHP typically is not the only programming language a hosting company offers. They are often used in conjunction with CGI, Perl and Python scripts to increase the functionality of an Apache server. Some web hosting providers even combine PHP with Microsoft technologies such as the MSSQL database and Microsoft FrontPage, making it much easier to build and manage a website.

Issues with PHP

The continuous widespread use of PHP has also resulted in a number of vulnerabilities. This script has led to instances such as DoS attacks, buffer overflows and other exploits made possible when bypassing its built-in security measures. Malicious individuals have also exploited the script by injecting harmful code into headers distributed via the email system.

Because of this, the PHP script has received many updates to address these vulnerabilities. In November of 2007, PHP version 5.25 was released and it’s now recommended by security experts.

Choosing a PHP Host

PHP scripts are suitable whether you simply intend to host a personal blog or create a thriving e-commerce site. Its familiarity and ease of use usually results in less downtime and greater performance. Finding a host using PHP scripts should not be much of a challenge, as nearly everyone utilizes it. Like with any type of hosting, customer support, storage, bandwidth and stability are the most important factors. You will find that most companies offering PHP are both affordable and reliable.


Linux Hosting: A Fine Point Overview

In your mission to find a website provider, you will notice that many companies offer what is know as Linux-based hosting. This article will detail the finer points of this option and how it can be used to create and maintain dynamic web sites. We will also shed a bit of light on the Linux operating system in general and why it is the preferred choice by many users.

History

Linux is essentially a variation of the Unix operating system. It was created in 1991 at Finland’s University of Helsinki by a student named Linus Torvalds. Torvalds came to develop Linux while working on a non-commercial replacement version for Minux, a smaller Unix-like system. Linux was originally intended for academic use but evolved into something much more useful.

Since it was developed under the GNU Project’s General Public License, the source code of Linux is freely available. While the goal of the GNU Project was to develop and distribute free Unix compatible software, the Linux operating system itself is not free, only the source code for the kernel and most of it’s software. Linux developers and third-party vendors can charge a fee for it as long as the source code is freely available.

Web Hosting

Just as with any provider, before choosing a Linux host, you should first determine the needs of your website. Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will offer a Linux-based hosting plan for a very reasonable price. This option presents you with a wide range of software applications that can be used to enhance the presentation and functionality of your site. The most common configuration of this type of hosting is known as a LAMP platform, consisting of a Linux operating system, an Apache web server, a MySQL database and PHP, Perl or Python scripts.

The LAMP configuration offers a number of components that can be used to support and run a website or a server. When put into action, it defines server infrastructures and a paradigm for developing software. LAMP is so widely used because the Linux system itself is so affordable.

The Apache server is what provides access to websites on the internet and is available for both Linux and Unix systems. It is currently the most widely used server today. MySQL is the database management system that adds ease to building a website. It actually functions as a server and is a multithreaded, multi-user system that grants users with access to their databases. MySQL is the most popular database management system and is said to have more than 10 million installations. The programming languages used in LAMP are typically either PHP, Perl or Python. These scripts are used to create object-orientated web pages and can also be used on Windows-based platforms as well.

The Linux system itself is capable of many things such as networking, software development and functioning as an end-user platform. It works with almost any kind of hardware from the basic AMD and Intel products to more obscure names such as Digital Alpha, PowerPC and Silicon Graphics. Due to its low cost and high-level of functionality, Linux has become one of the most popular operating systems and web hosting platforms outside of Windows.