The most dynamic and easily updateable websites are all
driven by a database. This enables maximum flexibility and
lowest possible maintenance because it completely separates
content from presentation.
MySQL
A widely used free database is MySQL. It is both
efficient and powerful, and has many fans all over the
world. Most common scripting languages can be used with it,
but the combination PHP/MySQL is most popular. Because of
this, PHP/MySQL-hosting is most common on Linux servers, and
since Linux, MySQL and PHP are both free and very
efficient(less strain on the server), PHP/MySQL hosting is
cheap.there are plenty of MySQL-driven PHP scripts available
for free on the internet, like discussion forums, directory
scripts and shopping carts.
PHP/MySQL-hosting is most common on Linux servers, and
since Linux, MySQL and PHP are both free and very
efficient(less strain on the server), PHP/MySQL hosting is
cheap.
PostgreSQL
MySql's little brother in the open source world in terms
of popularity, but very comparable(if not better) in
performance.
PostgreSql hosting is also most common on Linux/Unix
servers, since the Windows version is "on the way". Can
easily be used with programming languages such as Python,
PHP and Java. Does not add any significant costs to your web
hosting account, but availability as a bit limited.
MS SQL
Microsoft has its own version of SQL, called MS SQL. Like
MySQL it is a powerful database solution, but only available
on Windows servers. Widely used for commercial applications,
but Windows/MS SQL hosting is more expensive than Linux/MySql
hosting, and there are fewer online resources for MS SQL.
Microsoft Access
One more database from Microsoft, which is available in
many cheap Windows hosting packages. It is said not to be as
efficient and scalable as SQL databases, but price is its
strength if you need Windows hosting.
