use Inline::Files;
use Inline PERL;

greeting("PERL");

__PERL__
SUB greeting {
    $foo = SHIFT @_ || $_[0];
    $! = 1; # Turn buffering off
    FOR ($i=1, $i<=10, $i++) {
        @a[$i] = $i;
    }
    LOCAL $length = @a;
    PRINT "Hello, $foo\n";
}
[download]

haha :D that was funny :)

Is there an advantage to the other languages or is it simply a matter of choice or just preference?

To elaborate on the points moritz has made and putting aside personal preferences, when it comes down to building that type of application its all about costs.

To my knowledge the cheapest way to build that type of web application would be with a combination of PHP, MySQL and AJAX this may not be the best way. More complex applications would need perhaps the stronger glue provided by Perl.

Using Open source software like PHP, Mysql and Perl etc can make a huge difference to the development costs of applications when compared to ASP etc.

Two other major influences are Labour skill set and Labour costs. As a general rule Perl programmers are more skilled, thinner on the ground and as a result are paid more. PHP programmers are more available and are generally less skilled than their Perl counterparts, Small PHP applications can be coded relatively quickly consequently PHP development costs are lower. There are other considerations regarding hosting choice and availability most offer PHP hosting, ASP costs more.

So at the end of the day its all about time and money, if the software is already in-house and hosting arranged it can become a different ball game. Each new application has to be costed on its merits taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of the current circumstances and what's available at the time before tendering/estimating a price to the client.