You can use Dreamweaver to build web applications using any of five server technologies: ColdFusion, ASP.NET, ASP, JSP, or PHP. Each of these technologies corresponds to a document type in Dreamweaver. Choosing one for your web application depends on several factors, including your level of comfort with various scripting languages and the application server you plan to use.
If you're new to web application development or to application development in general, you'll probably prefer ColdFusion because it provides an easy-to-learn server scripting environment that's also tightly integrated with Dreamweaver. If you're familiar with other server technologies, such as JSP, PHP, ASP, or ASP.NET, Dreamweaver offers great support for these as well.
Which server technology you choose also depends on the application server you plan to use for your web application. An application server is software that helps a web server process web pages containing server-side scripts or tags. For example, if you have ColdFusion MX Server, you can choose ColdFusion as your server technology. If you have access to a server running Microsoft Internet Information Server 5 (IIS) with the .NET Framework, you can choose ASP.NET. PHP is an option if you have access to a web server with a PHP application server; JSP is an option if you have access to a web server with a JSP application server (such as Macromedia JRun).
A developer edition of ColdFusion MX is available on the Dreamweaver CD (Windows version only) and on the Macromedia website at www.macromedia.com/software/coldfusion/.
For more information, see "Setting up an application server" in Using Dreamweaver Help.
To learn more about ColdFusion, see Using ColdFusion (available within Dreamweaver Help) or visit the Macromedia website at www.macromedia.com/software/coldfusion/.
To learn more about ASP.NET, visit the Microsoft website at www.asp.net/.
To learn more about ASP, visit the Microsoft website at msdn.microsoft.com/library/psdk/iisref/aspguide.htm.
To learn more about JSP, visit the Sun Microsystems website at java.sun.com/products/jsp/.
To learn more about PHP, visit the PHP website at www.php.net/.
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