PHP or JAVA

Any scripting language would be fine for such tasks. Pick one that you are most comfortable with. Java (in the web application domain) shines when words like distributed and enterprise comes into the picture :)
 
*amp should get you going in no time ,is much more suitable for a web based environment .

if java was based for the desktop ,and then moulded to work for the web (jsp) ,then with php its just the other way around - it was meant to work great for web based applications .
 
It depends on your requirements. I think php would be the ideal choice unless you need some secure data comm needs (which I think you might not need). There are many good, high traffic sites/portals running on PHP. Look for cms based frameworks on php that can get you up and running in a short time.

Wish I could suggest python. Right now its not as widely used as php or java.

EDIT: Bosky had it spot on. LAMP based ones would be ideal.
 
I don't think its right in saying that java was moulded to work with the web. In fact, if i am not mistaken, it was java that revolutionized the dynamic web application industry with the introduction of applets.
 
^ true . On one side you have applets : think the added download ,the updates ,and that too the newer version is more beefed up than ever .so that makes it 15 mins to even see your app in the first place . Its a business choice you have to make . if you want to cater to only users who in most probability might have the latest version of jvm , its a risky bet when compared to the predictable and easy-to-get-things-done way with PHP . Or if youre looking for getting things done even easier ,id suggest checking out another option with - ruby on rails and claimed to be the best rapid -prototpying developement web platform existing right now .

Resources

1.PHP to Ruby

2.wikipedia on rOr

2.5php vs java vs ruby

3.PHP vs java

4.object oriented php vs java

5.How to combine PHP technology with Java based on Enterprise Systems

6. Or for the brave hearted - POLYGLOT - a computer program in eight languages together - COBOL (ANSI) ,Pascal ,Fortran (ANSI, f77), C (ANSI-ish), PostScript, Linux/Unix shell script (bash, sh, csh), x86 machine language and perl ) ;)
 
Well, for a web application, applets are far from a good choice. They do however have a particular niche of their own. Corporate intranets is one of the best examples.

If you want to go ahead with java, there are some wonderful technologies and frameworks available. However, you might find difficulty in finding economical and reliable hosts, unless you take the dedicated route.

I would suggest that you stick with any of the popular scripting languages. Unless your application deals with distributed transactions, requires a high level of concurrency and other such enterprise requirements, you do not want to take the java route. Development time will be signifincalty shorter with most of the dynamic languages. (I am not sure about PHP, but python would be a good choice for such applications)

Performance wise, I am guessing that java would be far superior to PHP. This again is highly subjective. Let me just say that java starts to show its superiority as the complexity of the application increases.

Ruby, I've read is a well designed language. Comparable more in terms with Python. However, its standard library is not as mature and complete as compared to Python. RoR will suit your requirement just fine. It might be the best RAD platform right now, but I am pretty sure that it is not going to survive for long unless there is a major rewrite of the base code. RoR is a big bloated beautiful beast :)
 
In terms of business sense (looking at a SMB) and getting to start a new site/portal, I think there is nothing to beat PHP and Java. Concept to proto or even deployment time is shortest in these two unless one has all pre built tools.

For each framework or specialized lib in Ruby or Python, there will be atleast 10 stable ones in PHP or Java. Add to that, you wont need much of any experience to get started with the present PHP/Java based frameworks ( knowledge of these will help a lot in fixing/customizing things though)

If you are building a portal kind of thing, Just search for a CMS like joomla/drupal and they will also have addons for real estate use. If you want to go for RoR (Ruby) Django or TG (Python), its like reinventing the wheel for many of the basic features. Im telling this even as I earn my bread from Python. In terms of business, ATM there is nothing to beat PHP/JAVA. Unless your need is for an enterprise app, you can ignore java too.

If you want to get in for the long term, flexible with project schedule (till you build up your tools) and want to have fun while doing it then IMO Python is the one.

PS: I hope this thread doesnt turn into a language flame war
 
As for rapid, secure developement therz something called JSF. Its the best if u need an extensible and large web-app.

I think the Java vs PhP war is already over long back... and most enterprise webapps use Java. Php is gr8 for smaller webapps though!!
 
:) Sorry...but php is used for big enterprises too....I have been a small part of a project that people (in the range of a few million)acccessing that particular site...everything was done using php...and mysql database. Of course it actually depends on your project requirements....JSF(Java Server Faces) is not very old and is a bit complicated....There are very few resources....
E.g :Try creating a popup in jsf...pass some value to the popup and get some value back....

it is quite complicated in jsf very easy in php

If it is for a college project sort of thing get your hands dirty with php :)
 
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