application and web app technologies

[Van]

Try matching technologies when building a decision matrix...
For example, if you need the PHP open source pile then MySQL works
well.
If you like SQL Server then ASP.NET or Mono with C# is attractive.
Eliminate contenders that have performance obstacles...
PERL does not multithread, PHP.com holds back the cache goods from
PHP.org.
Find a theme and follow it a logical conclusion, here is my
experience....I was looking for a good JavaScript Library to Ajax my
offering.I found Mochikit to be well documented, cross browser with an
active forum.The author described Mochikit as Python like which caused
me to investigate Python.Terse, compact, easy to embed C/C++ with
multithreading are impressive.ZOPE a python written web server with
ZODB (in-memory db/cache mechanism) sealed the deal for me.  Most of
the Zope/Python/SQL code uses PostgreSQL examples.
I am concerned about bandwidth associated with the myriad dev tasks.
A good JavaScript library eliminates major hassles, you may have to
combine some.
SQL is SQL, it comes down to documentation, interface, licensing or
preference.
Server code that does not render standards compliant web pages is a
pain to test.
ZPT from ZOPE solves that problem nicely, with a fast XML page parser.
So prioritize you needs:  Labor, Standards, Functionality, Training,
etc.
Then evaluate you stacks based on your priorities.
The last time I was involved with university operations we had unit
record gear.
Good Luck,
Van