Web Development Path

[webdevman]

Hi,
I am at a crossroads in my career and wanted some advice. I have been developing websites for a number of years. I am looking to move towards more back end programming (coldfusion, ASP.net, etc.) and am not sure where to begin. I can handcode HTML with ease and can use Javascript (but rarely build any scripts on my own). I have a little expereince with Classic .asp (using VBScript) and I can develop database driven pages with Dreamweaver and Classic ASP.

What's the best programming path I should take at this point? Should I learn to code Javascript from scratch? Should I learn more VBScript? Should I jump into ASP.net, Coldfusion, Java, C# or C++?

I really enjoy working with databases and using them to display content.

Thanks in advance for teh advice.

[Stephen Philbin]

I know very little about the Microsoft server side language technologies, but it looks like that's the way you're leaning. As far as I know, you can make more than just server applications with C# and can only make web applications with asp.NET, so I guess C# might prove to be a good all-rounder and give you more scope. Java is always a good one to learn. It's (mostly) cross platform and in demand. Again, it's not restricted to just web/server applications and so should afford you considerable flexibility. C++ is good, but it's not new, shiny and is far from system independent.

As a technology, I'm unaware of any point to ColdFusion. It's a minority and I don't know of anything worthwhile that it can do that the other major players can't. If it's server-side you want to be going in to, then Javascript really will be in the minority; even more so than ColdFusion.

[Reli4nt]

Look to see what is most in demand in your area where you will be working and if that is something you will enjoy then go with that.

Also consider that C and Java are more programming languages in the classic sense that asp or coldfusion. The latter will take a fraction of the time to learn. I have just begun to learn JavaScript and it appears even easier. Consider how much time you intend to devote to learning.

[PeOfEo]

The way it works is ASP.net is a technology and C#, VB.net, C++.net, delphi.net etc etc etc are all languages that are a part of microsoft's .net framework. These languages can be used to create .net applications which are interpreted executable apps, of they can create server applications with asp.net. Either way, the code is compiled to an intermediate level and interpreted much like java is (however, .net does it for bounds checking rather than to be run with a VM).

Any kind of real high level programming language can take you anywhere. If you learn java you can extend that to using jsp, or you can take your java knowlege and pick c# up, since they are essentially the same syntax wise and then make .net apps or asp.net apps. C++ is great, it doesn't have all of the syntactic sugar or do as much for you as Java does, but if you know C++, then you'll know exactly what all Java is doing for you under that hood and be able to migrate to java or anything else real fast. If you learn C++ you can also throw that onto the internet with C++.net (though it isn't as widely used as C# or VB.net). The choice of which high level language to use is yours, but it really doesn't matter that much, because they are all comparable (when used on the internet especially), and once you know one picking up another is pretty quick and painless. If you're looking for what will make you the most employable, Asp.net (with either vb.net or c#) has more demand in the corporate world.