I have a web application requiring a middle-tier language to communicate between an oracle database and math routines on a Linux server and a flex-based application on a client. I'm not a software expert, and need recommendations for which language to use for the middle-tier.

The math routines are currently in Matlab but will be ported to C (or C++) as shared libraries. Thus, by default there's some C or C++ communication necessary. These routines rely on FFTW (www.fftw.org), which is called directly from C or C++ (thus, I don't see re-writing these routines in another language).

The middle tier must manage traffic between the client, the math routines, and the Oracle database. The client will trigger the math routines aynchronously, and the results saved in the db and transferred back to the client, etc. The middle-tier will also need to authenticate user accounts/passwords, and send out various administrative emails.

Originally I thought PhP the obvious choice, but interfacing asychronously multiple clients with the C or C++ routines doesn't seem straightforward. Then I thought, why not just keep the whole middle tier in C or C++, but I'm not sure if this is done in the industry (C or C++ doesn't seem as web-friendly as other languages). There's always Jave + JNI, but maybe that introduces other complications (not sure). Any feedback appreciated.