Language best for a Photo-sharing site: PHP, Python, Ruby or something else?
Any. The language doesn't matter. Ruby-fanatics (especially the RubyOnRails sort) will try and tell you that their language will do everything in only 10 lines and it'll make you dinner and pick the kids up from school. Others will tell you that their language is the most secure, fastest, quickest to develop in, etc. Ignore them.
I love Python and I'd love to recommend it - but seriously, it won't make a difference. Just pick the language you know the best and get writing. So if that's Java, start writing Java. If that's C++, hell, start writing C++.
I don't believe the people who say that [insert language here] is fastest to develop in. It's all about what you find comfortable. Some langauges provide extra functionality but you can always write a library that provides that if you need it - it shouldn't take too long and, chances are, someone has already done it.
Remember: Facebook is written in PHP (though they compile a lot of that PHP to C++ now for speed), MySpace was written in C#/ColdFusion (I believe), Twitter uses Ruby On Rails (though they plan to abandon it apparently), Google uses Java/Go (I think) and LinkedIn uses ASP.net or something I think. My point is - tonnes of services, tonnes of languages and they're all doing ok. Right now, any language will do.
My favourite little phrase is "just build it". Whilst it's a good idea to have a nice architecture and think about performance and scalability - if those things will make you abandon the project half way through, what's the point in bothering? Besides, chances are you'll need to recode a large part of it anyway later on, assuming the project grows. Really think that Facebook are using the same code they were at the start?
So, in summary, pick whichever language you want. It'll be fine.
I plan to build a photo-sharing site like Flickr/Picasa for photographers, with features most suited for them. As you know, if that venture proves successful, many GB to TB of data transfers take place every day.
This question is not just about scalability of my application as it grows, but also performance. I would like to make an informed decision. I think I'd go with MySQL database, JavaScript/jQuery for client-side scripting, but what server-side language with it, is the question - - PHP, Python, Ruby or something else?
And there are definitely somethings to keep in mind when developing an application (i.e., scalable coding) that needs to scale over a period time. If any that you would like to suggest, what are they?
NOTE: I am specifying "Photo-sharing site" in order to give you an idea of my mission. Otherwise, this question wouldn't look as subjective. Kindly take it that way.