PHP Stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor." (It is a recursive acronym, if you can understand what that means.

) PHP is an HTML-embedded Web scripting language. This means PHP code can be inserted into the HTML of a Web page. When a PHP page is accessed, the PHP code is read or "parsed" by the server the page resides on. The output from the PHP functions on the page are typically returned as HTML code, which can be read by the browser. Because the PHP code is transformed into HTML before the page is loaded, users cannot view the PHP code on a page. This make PHP pages secure enough to access databases and other secure information. A lot of the syntax of PHP is borrowed from other languages such as C, Java and Perl. However, PHP has a number of unique features and specific functions as well. The goal of the language is to allow Web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly and easily. PHP is also great for creating database-driven Web sites. If you would like to learn more about PHP, the official site is PHP.net.

Perl Perl actually stands for "Practical Extraction and Report Language," but you don't really need to know that unless you want to impress your nerd friends. Perl is a scripting language which uses a syntax simliar to C/C++. It is commonly used by Web programmers to create scripts for Web servers. Perl is especially good at parsing text, so programmers often use it for reading and searching through text files.

As a regular computer user, you won't get to see Perl in action, since it does most of its work "behind the scenes." Perl scripts are run on the server computer before any information is sent to your Web browser. Oh well, the code looks like hieroglyphics to most people anyway.

Python
Python is a high-level programming language designed to be easy to read and simple to implement. It is open source, which means it is free to use, even for commercial applications. Python can run on Mac, Windows, and Unix systems and has also been ported to Java and .NET virtual machines. Python is considered a scripting language, like Ruby orPerl and is often used for creating Web applicationsand dynamic Web content. It is also supported by a number of 2D and 3D imaging programs, enabling users to create custom plug-ins and extensions with Python. Examples of applications that support a Python API include GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, and Autodesk Maya. Scripts written in Python (.PY files) can be parsed and run immediately. They can also be saved as a compiled programs (.PYC files), which are often used as programming modules that can be referenced by other Python programs.