Actually the best ecommerce software I have ever used (I have used dozens over the years) is Intershop, written in 90% perl (fast_cgi) 10% C, the database is Sybase ASE.

My preferences for an ecommerce system depending on expected loads and budgets of course would be mod_perl, C++, using a postgres database unless you are expecting massive load and serious business in which case oracle.

Yes Perl is a very good language. Easy to pick up as well so would be very good for creating an online shopping cart.

Try a couple of those ecommerce solutions listed here:

http://www.opensourcecms.com

To get optimum performance and scalability you might want to look beyond PHP and use java? You might also find it easier to use for integrating with other systems?

There are some good places to start such as KonaKart - which is a free Java eCommerce application.

See details on their product at http://www.konakart.com that claims to be database compatible with osCommerce as well as having a Java API and a SOAP Web Service interface.

Try out Easy Store Hosting. They are based on ZEN Cart Shopping cart hosting + A whole lot of other Features like Ebay Store Import, Yahoo Seller Tool and more....

Don't laugh, but I've used paypal a few times...

The not so helpful [but realistic] answer.

In no particular order, I would pick the one that

a] delivers the required functionality

b] you already fully understand or can relatively easily learn to understand within a reasonable time frame

c] demonstrably works well with your proposed web server

a] you can afford: costs to also include future support and learning/training time as well as the capital costs [if any]

Most Important Tip:

Picking the development tools and technologies before you have a fully functional technical specification for the project, together with a realistic requirements specification[list of deliverables] is the guaranteed route to failure and madness as well as the route to rubbish code that is very likely to break under stress.

One picks development tools because they deliver the specific and exact capabilities one needs to complete the project, not because some friend of a friend tells one that AstoTurboBuilder is the latest hottest best product.

All the technologies you cite are good in their own way; but each of them does have a different way - and is good at different things.

Without you yourself knowing what you need to deliver and how you need to deliver it it's impossible for anyone to say that one of these tools is any better than another.

NB: "I want to build a shopping cart!" is NOT a specification of any kind.

Yes, I agree, there are some strengths and weaknesses for every solution, may it be Perl, J2EE, or dotNet or for that matter, any other technology.

As developers, we should know the abilities and limitations of solutions to determine which solution to use in developing a solution to a business problem.

My principle is to solve the business problem with out any prejudice on technology or language. Be passionate to solve the problem, not to a specific technology.

Some one who have expertise may reply to this post. What are the general points to consider before developing an eCommerse application.

Even I am looking out for a good eCommerce Solution. I would like to hear from who have some expertise in this area.

It does not mean that newbiees should not post, but to request experts to respond.

Take it from someone who has done tons with eCommerce and written several solutions. In my opinion, PHP or Perl is the two languages you should go with. Either are native to linux and can do basically anything on either. There are people who argue that Perl is a whole lot more powerful than PHP but I'm one to argue against it. I feel that PHP, now that it is in v5 has become a very powerful tool. I have integrated back-end payment systems with PayPal.com software for the occasional online marketer, I've also overseen several major overhaul projects that utilized larger companies such as connecting to Visa and Mastercard directly along with Authorize.net servers.

My language of choice is PHP although I have no problem with Perl. Moral of the story is, use a language you are comfortable with. If you do JavaScript programming, PHP is not a far step away, mostly function name changes and minor syntax. If you are a C/C++ programmer, you basically can go to any one you wish. If you are new, PHP or Perl. Perl is a little more complicated but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. Reserve Java for later unless you really wanna dive in. Java isn't complicated, you just have to know the manuals and where each function is located. It's a very intertwined language. If you've looked at C# you've basically looked at Java as MSJ++ and MSC# were both based toward how Java organizes everything.