Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition

Providing Application Logic

While you could write Apache modules that provide the logic for your applications, most developers find it much easier to use scripting languages and integrate them with Apache using modules others have already written. Ultimately, all any computer language can do is to make the CPU compare, add, subtract, multiply, and divide bytes. An important point about scripting languages is that they should run without modification on as many platforms as possible, so that your site can move from machine to machine. On the other hand, if you are a beginner and know someone who can help with one particular language, then that one might be the best choice. We devote a chapter to installing support for each of the major languages and run over the main possibilities here.

The discussion of computer languages is made rather difficult by the fact that human beings fall into two classes: those who love some particular language and those don’t. Naturally, the people who discuss languages fall into the first class; many of the people who read books like this in the hope of doing something useful with a computer tend more towards the second. The authors regard computer languages as a necessary evil. Languages all have their quirks, ranging from the mildly amusing to pleasures comparable to gargling battery acid. We would like enthusiasts for each of these languages to know that our comments on the others have reduced those enthusiasts to fury as well.