Which search script platform should I use?

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The search script is available in three different versions so that you can select what best suits your method of distribution. The following versions are available:

PHP
ASP
ASP.NET
CGI
Javascript

The server-side versions (PHP, ASP, ASP.NET or CGI) provide the best performance as they operate on your own web server and is the recommended choice for an online website.

The client-side version (Javascript) lets you run the search engine from a CD-ROM or DVD distribution with the benefit of not requiring any external software besides the use of Javascript enabled web browsers. However, it is also more restricted in technical capability and efficiency than the server-side versions.

The following flow-chart may help you determine which script platform to use.

flowchart

*A site with approximately 65,000+ pages or 80,000+ unique words would be considered a big website.

**Advanced features include "context description" and "exact phrases", both of which are not available to the JavaScript version due to limitations in the script platform.

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Confused?
If you are not familiar with some of the above terminology, refer to the appendix chapter What is PHP, ASP, CGI or Javascript?