Cody Sparks asked:




Most of the time when working in web development there will be two types of operating systems for a web server, Linux and Windows. When you hear Linux Server and Windows Server, you are just hearing the different operating systems the server will be running. This can be a big deal if you have certain expectations. Usually you will have one main question, which one is better? There really isn’t an answer to this. It is more on the developer and what he is trying to accomplish.

Operating System Common Features

There are a few common features both Windows and Linux will provide. One is how you transfer your files. Both Windows and Linux support FTP access to edit, delete or transfer files. Both operating system can render some of the same file types. HTML (.html) and JavaScript (.js) are both commonly used on both platforms. You can also run CGI in Linux and Windows. CGI is an application that is similar to writing in Perl or C#. This can help with forms and dynamic content, usually used with shopping carts. MYSQL Database and PHP can run on both Linux and Windows, but these two web development languages are more common on Linux.

Linux Operating System Server

Linux Web Hosting is probably the most used server operating system in the market. Most developers love Linux because it is open source and will support PHP and MySQL perfectly. The plus side of all of these great features is that Linux, PHP and MySQL is all FREE! They cost nothing and are all open source applications.

PHP and MySQL can be coded together to make anything possible. PHP can run on different platforms like Windows, but most of the time it is ran through Linux. They use the same tags and attributes as HTML, but you can include functions and scripts to be ran on the server side. Making Dynamic pages that will pull data, insert data, or modify data in a MySQL table. PHP can also support different tables such as Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC.

Linux Top Advantage – FREE & Open Source!

Windows Operating System Server

Should you go with Windows? It really matters on what coding language you are going to develop with and what your end goal of your project is. Most Web Developers will code PHP and MySQL on a Linux Server. Some have moved to ASP coding language that is only supported on a Windows Server. ASP coding is a very universal coding language.

Windows Web Hosting has become more and more popular as web developers look into ASP. ASP is a server coding language that is only supported on a Windows Server. ASP stands for Active Server Pages which is a free component with Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It can also be found in the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.

ASP coding language is a lot like a HTML file. This will contain different tabs and attributes as HTML or XML. What makes ASP different from HTML is that the request is read through the server and executes the ASP function or script of the file. ASP can run coding languages that are similar to computer programming languages. ASP can link to different database languages.

Windows Top Advantage – Easier to Config

Security Issues and Concerns

One quick thought about both Linux and Windows servers is which is better for security. Security is one of your biggest concerns when having a website and even more when you have an ecommerce store. The sad thing about this topic is that it is an argument that will never be solved. It all comes down to if the hacker wants in or not. They both have security problems. The best way to prevent anything from happening is having a good web administrator or a good web hosting company. Having one or both of these will keep your mind at ease.
Which Web Operating System is Better?

Looking at some of the features, neither is better than the other. There are just some advantages and disadvantages of both. Finding what your website needs is the decision maker. Windows or Linux can both be used for your advantage. Some web developers love to use one or the other because of what they are used to. Some web developers only use one or the other because of the coding language they will be using. Remember there are pros and cons to both, but a website is made by the web developer, not the operating system.

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