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PHP is not the sexiest language, and many people are quick to point out its deficiencies for Web application development. However, PHP is one of the most popular open-source projects, with a huge following, and many installations. Given that it is a relatively stable project, you might expect the PHP development team to be resting on its laurels. But no; in addition to a regular bug-fix release, the PHP QA team is sponsoring a test fest, in an attempt to improve the language's automated test suite.
Want a complete, printed reference for Rails that dedicates a separate chapter to each topic? Look no further than The Rails Way, a new book by Obie Fernandez.
Ruby on Rails is one of the best-known open-source Web frameworks currently in use. It combines the Ruby language with an MVC (model-view-controller) architecture, a powerful object-relational mapper known as ActiveRecord.
Want to create modern Web applications? You'll need to use JavaScript. But don't write the JavaScript yourself; use one of the high-quality open-source libraries that let you concentrate on your coding, rather than browser incompatibilities.
If you work with statistics, then you should look at R, an open-source language for statistical analysis. It's jam-packed with features, and has a strong community that offers both assistance and numerous extension packages.
When people talk about big, successful open-source projects, they often think about software that can be used in large organizations. So we hear a great deal about the Linux operating system, the MySQL database, and even Ruby on Rails as a framework for developing Web applications. There's more to the story, though.
