2.3 Web Hosting Platforms
Another option that may be presented when choosing a web hosting package is the choice of hosting platform to be used. Every computer uses an operating system, a programme that it executes when first booted up to manage the other resources available. The most popular operating systems in use today are: Windows, Mac OS, Unix and Linux (much like Unix).
Windows
Microsoft Windows is becoming popular due to its powerful ASP and ASP.NET programming environments. Although it does have a somewhat chequered history regarding the dreaded blue screens and crashing, it has been improved greatly over the years. Advances in technology now provide a high performance server environment, along with exceptional support for developers because there is a single vendor (Microsoft) committed to ongoing development. And as it offers an environment similar to a regular desktop, using a graphical interface (icons, links etc.), it is about the easiest to use.
Mac OS
Apple's Mac OS X being is becming increasingly popular in the server environment but is still less commonplace than the others. As it is based on a system that borrows characteristics from Unix, Mac servers tend to be very stable and well suited for web hosting. Again it uses a graphical interface like Windows to simplify the administration process.
Unix
The traditional operating system, Unix has been around for 4 decades and is regarded as the most reliable system, using memory and disk space efficiently and being able to do more with fewer resources. Although it's less user-friendly than Windows systems, for simple websites this shouldn't be a problem, as the only access to the Unix server will be via file transfer protocol (FTP) to upload the site. However, for more advanced sites, webmasters would need to become familiar with Unix commands.
Linux
As several companies tended to have their own version of Unix, and because some companies had a problem with Microsoft who offered a more standardised platform with NT, Linux was developed and was made available for free. An open source platform, it is maintained and developed by thousands of programmers who contribute enhancements for free. As a result, Linux has become very popular, and rightly so. In addition it tends to be more affordable than Windows and Mac hosting because those belong to Microsoft and Apple and so come with expensive licensing fees, whereas Linux is free. As Linux is based on Unix, it too is a very stable platform but can be difficult to use because it uses a command line similar to old DOS systems rather than a graphical interface.
Practicalities
In reality you will mostly be offered a choice of two platforms by hosting companies: Windows or Linux. For most static sites, either will do and there is no wrong choice. However, if you intend to use languages beyond html, css and javascript then the choice comes down to:
