Server Technology of the Website Hosting

This section introduces some of the most commonly used hosting technologies.

Windows hosting

Windows hosting is a hosting service operating on the Windows operating system.

If you use ASP as server-side script or plan to use Microsoft's Access or SQL Server database, you should choose a Windows platform hosting. Additionally, if you plan to use Microsoft FrontPage to develop websites, Windows hosting is also the best choice.

Unix hosting

Unix hosting is a hosting service operating on the Unix operating system.

Unix is the first (or most original) web server operating system, known for its reliability and stability. Moreover, the price is usually lower than Windows.

Linux hosting

Linux hosting is a hosting service operating 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 will provide some level of support for CGI. Many also offer pre-installed, ready-to-use 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 script technology developed by Microsoft.

By placing script code within 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. Both Visual Basic and JavaScript can be used.

ASP is a standard component of Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP. ASP can be activated on all computers running Windows.

Many web 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.

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.

JSP

JSP is a server-side technology similar to ASP, developed by SUN.

With JSP, you can create dynamic pages by inserting Java code into HTML pages. The code will be executed by the server before the page is returned to the browser.

Since JSP uses Java, this technology is not limited to any server platform.

FrontPage

FrontPage is a website design tool developed by Microsoft.

With FrontPage, you can develop a website even if you do not have in-depth web development knowledge. Most Windows hosting solutions support FrontPage server extensions, allowing users to develop their websites using FrontPage.

If you plan to use FrontPage, you should choose a Windows hosting solution (not Unix/Linux).

PHP

Similar to ASP, PHP is also a server-side scripting language. By placing script code within HTML pages, you can use PHP to create dynamic web pages. The code will be executed by the server before the page is returned to the browser.

Cold Fusion

Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages.

Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.