Bet the farm. Python or PHP?
RobertL: Excellent discussion by some obviously very experienced and intelligent people.  I haven't used Perl too much, I'm much more experienced in Python and PHP, but I think all are capable languages.I think the most important things to consider are things that you can't really relate effectively to a forum discussion like this and that is what your real skill levels at each of these languages is and the availability of skill in your area and network of friends.I would lean more to those factors for making the final decision because it makes no matter that python might have wome extremely elegant and powerful syntax or library for coding a specific functionality if nobody working on the project is familiar enough with the language know the syntax or the library.The primary investment in any new app like this is "developer time".  Managing that resource requires the juggling of many more factors than the capabilities of any given language.