PHP/Perl/Python Mapscript comparison

[Chris Matheson]

ArcGIS Desktop environments such as ArcView (9.0 or higher) natively 
supports Python or VBscript scripting within the environment.  That may 
be an influencing factor.
As far as the other ESRI products (arcIMS, arcServer, etc.), I'm not 
sure about native Python support.

My opinion begins here, YMMV, disclaimer etc.

I think you are on the right track, figure out your needs, plan for the 
future, then pick the language that fits.  These days it seems you can 
do anything with any language (as long as you have module x, recomplile 
from source, recode some of something etc.), the trick is finding the 
one that fit's your needs without having a lot of overhead.  My personal 
experience, I enjoy using php for my small experiments, because I find I 
can do things quickly.  But, python might be a good fit for a more 
complex application due to the object-oriented nature. I've haven't used 
perl very much.

Chris M.

Shanti wrote:

>I've read the discussion from January 2005 regarding
>advantages/disavantages in terms of features of using mapscript in python,
>perl, or php and have another concern that I'm hoping someone might
>address. I am trying to determine which scripting language would be the
>best for a large application that emphasizes the web interface, and could
>migrate to an ArcGIS environment if neccesary. I will be working with a
>PostgreSQL/PostGIS RMDS and the web-inteface will be extensive.
>
>Thanks so much for any advice,
>Shanti
>
>Pamela Pack
>Alternative Growth Futures Lab
>University of Colorado at Denver
>Phone: (303)492-8781
>
>
>  
>