Web Hosting Technology
This section introduces some of the most commonly used hosting technologies.
Windows Hosting
Windows hosting is hosting service that operates on the Windows operating system.
If you use ASP as your server script, or plan to use Microsoft's Access or SQL Server databases, you should choose a Windows platform hosting. Additionally, if you plan to use Microsoft FrontPage to develop your website, Windows hosting is also the best choice.
Unix Hosting
Unix hosting is hosting service that operates on the Unix operating system.
Unix was the first (or original) web server operating system, known for its reliability and stability. It is also usually less expensive than Windows.
Linux Hosting
Linux hosting is hosting service that operates on the Linux operating system.
CGI
Web pages can be executed as CGI scripts. CGI scripts can be executed on the server to generate dynamic interactive pages.
Most ISPs provide some level of support for CGI. Many also offer pre-installed, ready-to-run guestbooks, page counters, and chat/forum solutions written in CGI.
CGI is most commonly used on Unix or Linux servers.
ASP - Active Server Pages
ASP is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft.
By embedding script code into HTML pages, you can use ASP to create dynamic web pages. The code is executed by the server before the page is returned to the browser. Visual Basic and JavaScript are both supported.
ASP is a standard component in Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on any computer running Windows.
Many hosting providers offer ASP support, and ASP technology is very popular in China.
If you need to learn more about ASP, please visit our ASP Tutorial.
PHP
Similar to ASP, PHP is a server-side scripting language. By embedding script code into HTML pages, you can use PHP to create dynamic web pages. The code is executed by the server before the page is returned to the browser.
PHP is well-suited for web development and allows PHP code to be embedded within HTML.
PHP syntax is similar to Perl and C.
On various operating systems, PHP is often used with Apache (Web server). It also supports ISAPI and Microsoft's Windows IIS.
PHP supports many databases, such as MySQL, Informix, Oracle, SYBASE, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.
If you want to learn more about PHP, please visit our PHP Tutorial.
JSP
JSP is a server-side technology similar to ASP developed by SUN.
Using JSP, you can create dynamic pages by embedding Java code into HTML pages. The code is executed by the server before the page is returned to the browser.
Since JSP uses Java, this technology is not limited to any specific server platform.
Cold Fusion
Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages.
Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.
Chili!Soft ASP
Microsoft's ASP technology can only run on the Windows platform.
However, Chili!Soft ASP is a software product that allows ASP to run on UNIX and other platforms.
Microsoft Expression Web
Expression Web is a web design tool developed by Microsoft.
Expression Web allows novice developers to easily develop websites.
If you plan to use Expression Web, you need to look at Windows hosting solutions.
Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is a web design tool owned by Adobe Systems.
Even without extensive web development knowledge, users can use Dreamweaver to develop a website.
Dreamweaver supports CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JavaServer Pages, and PHP web technologies.
Dreamweaver can run on both Mac and Windows operating systems.
Secure Server
A secure server can encrypt transmitted data.
If you plan to conduct online credit card transactions or other types of web communications that need to be protected from unauthorized access, your ISP must provide a secure server.