A web framework for fast & deep integration of a wiki, forum, photo gallery components

I'm going to develop a website whose main task is to integrate wikis, forums, web mail client, photo galleries etc. in an innovative way (Trac or assembla.com are good examples of what I need, I am not developing another competitive project management tool though).

I would prefer not to spend my most of my time developing these, pretty complex but standard components, but rather on creating a custom logic to combine them. Building those from some pre-existant blocks would be wonderful. It would be great if these components had some AJAX support too (e.g. for uploading photos). Of course there is going to be some additional functionality I'll need to develop myself, but if started from scratch, these components would consume most time.

I've done already some research: I don't want any CMS like Joomla or Drupal, as they would limit the level of integration into the existing components. Currently I am considering:

Python + Django + multiple tiny extensions (like django-simple-wiki, django-tables, django-forum, django-photologue) - their functionality is what I am looking for, but they don't seem too stable
PHP + CodeIgniter || CakePHP - I've seen pretty advanced websites based on them, but haven't found too much standard components
Python + Django + Pinax - seems to be the thing I'm looking for.. do you have any experiences with Pinax?

I'm ok with Python, PHP or Java. I'd rather not learn .NET or Ruby.

Is there anything else you could advise or any comments on the above, having my requirements in mind?

Thank you, Marcin

Solution

Without question, you should definitely spend some time with Pinax. pinaxproject.com/ Also, if you are looking to host it, consider webfaction.com. Those folks are fantastic, and have the added bonus of a HowTo on the pinax site: http://code.pinaxproject.com/wiki/DetailedPinaxWebfaction/

For the record, I'm not affiliated with either. Just a big, big fan. Of both.