We are looking to create an online glossary with a large number of
terms and corresponding definitions (~20,000) and we are trying to
determine the best technical solution for creating the website,
uploading the terms and definitions, displaying them etc.

The following are the features that the site will have:

1. A Home Page with basic info on the site, a randomly selected "term
of the day" and a search box.
2. ~20,000 term pages (each page will have one term and the
corresponding definition) and a few advertisements.
3. "Browse by letter? pages, which are basically 26 pages (A-Z) that
show all the terms that begin with that letter.
4. "Browse by subject" pages, which are a set of pages that will show
all of the terms belonging to a pre-determined subject.
5. Back-end online content management system which allows for the
addition/editing/removal of term content.
6. Ad management system. A web based system that will allow us to
assign, edit, and delete ads displayed on the term pages and across
the website.

A couple of other features we plan to add after launch are
interlinking between definitions and terms and functionality to show
?related terms? for a definition, if applicable.

So we need to know what platform(s), scripting language(s), and data
storage solution we should use and why? Plus any other related
information useful is appreciated too. Tips on how to automatically
link terms will be great too.

Thank you for your time and help

Hi

Though you didn?t mention what is your budget, but I suggest you to
use asp.net+sql server 2005 over windows 2003 server.

Reasons behind this choice are ? 

?	Since you are having ever growing database of terms, you need a fast
search. All of your search related options can be well handled.
?	You don?t need to create 20000 pages?! You can handle it only on a
single page though user will see different page address in their
address  bar
?	Good support for ajax (its hot now a days) to make your site cool.
It can make your site?s search features very user friendly

I suggest you to put letter based search, as Google suggest do, you
type letter, suggestions will pop up.

And I didn?t get exactly what do you mean by linking terms, can you explain?

People who don't know any better would say go with all Microsoft
products. But most of the time they are a waste of money for small
companies. All you need is a small linux box with PHP on it. And
download and install MediaWiki. Thats all you need! MediaWiki is what
wikipedia is based on. If you haven't heard of either here is the
links:

http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.mediawiki.org

It does all the auto linking and all that good stuff. You might need
to get somebody to tweak and customize it but trust me... it will be
MUCH more cost effective then getting using ASP.net and SQL server
2005 on a windows 2003 server. UTSAV_VERMA-ga did however mention that
you didn't mention your budget so I'm not attacking him :). I'm just
saying, this is a much better choice for you.

utsav_verma-ga, your answer will work for us, since you posted a
'comment' instead of an 'answer', i am not sure how to accept your
answer? (it might help to post as an answer too).

scotech-ga, thanks for your comments too, but we have already
evaluated using a media wiki and feel that is too robust for what we
need.

thanks for your time