"CGI scripting" is as nebulous a term as "CGI"
PHP can be used as a CGI scripting language. So can VBScript, perl, C, C++, python, ruby, scheme, JavaScript, Java and a babel of other languages. For that matter, you should be able to use Fortran and modern COBOL dialects as CGI languages.
The only thing a programming language needs to be usable as a CGI scripting language is the ability to take input from standard in, send output to standard out, be able to read environment variables, and be invokable by a web server.
Any given language is better than others as a CGI language by virtue of good string manipulation, wealth of built-in functions, and usable security.
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TANSTAAFL!