Google App Engine
App Engine is a free hosting service offered by Google with services and tools for developing web applications more easily, in the same spirit as Popfly from Microsoft.
Advantages of App Engine
Google provides the resources, we can then create a Web application focusing on the services of the application itself and without having faced annexes such as hosting and traffic.
The service allows to evolve by adapting resources, including space and traffic volume without it is necessary to restructure the application. Traffic spikes are handled without any problem and anything to change.
The APIs provide predefined components that you will no longer need to implement, such as user authentication, and better integration with the services provided by Google, such as Maps.
Disadvantages
The PHP language
is not supported. The
system uses Python, which is not widely used by webmasters. But
Google says that it is only a starting language in the current state of the
service.
In the same vein,
data storage is done on the BigTable service and not MySQL that webmasters
are accustomed to using.
Some webmasters have pointed to the conditions of use, they give extended right to Google on the content stored on App Engine. But Matt Cutts pointed out that this license is used primarily to protect Google against all eventualities and not against developers.
Who has access to App Engine?
As a first step, the service is provided free of charge on a trial basis
to 10000 users with limitations in resources, in space and traffic volume
permitted.
For example, 5 million page views per month maximum, and to go beyond, you
have to pay.
More
(c) 2008 Scriptol.com