Can I become a Web Developer and NOT do .Net programming?

Question

I want to get into Web Development, but I really didn't like .Net programming - while I like JavaScript, HTML, and Flash, I do not like (or am not even good at) the .Net coding like ASP.Net or VB.Net. Should I try a different aspect of Web Development, as I really want work that involves Web sites?

Answer 1

Please do! There are many alternatives to server-side programming, e.g., CGI based languages such as Perl, C/C++, etc., lighter weight (in terms of the demand for server-side resources) languages such as Java, PHP, Ruby, etc.

If you're going to learn to program on the server, pick up SQL. Won't so much matter what the actual database manager is, e.g., MySQL, DB2, Oracle, etc. - learn standard ANSI-compliant SQL syntax - then you can learn to use any particular RDBMS manager.

An alternative is to ignore the server-side entirely. There is (at last) a growing demand for pure User Interface Engineers (UIEs), who are wizards of CSS, (X)HTML, and JavaScript (with attendant expertise in AJAX, JSON, XML, and various OO libraries such as Dojo, Prototype, and the YUI). Do you really want to do software engineering on the server? It might make you more saleable in the general forum of web code-monkeys, but as the market continues to evolve to expect ever-more REAL engineering from UIEs, having greater client-side skills than the rest of the code-monkeys might prove more valuable.

I do it all and have been trying to evolve out of the server-side world into a purely client-side role. If you take that route, REALLY become expert in CSS and JavaScript (just about anybody can learn do (X)HTML well without terribly deep study). Really good CSS and truly correctly OO JavaScript are as deeply sophisticated as anything that anyone does on the server-side and are newer, less well-explored territory in many ways.

If you're not deeply steeped in the mystique of pure client-side issues, let me recommend that you explore tha arcane universe, using my links page as a stepping-off point:

http://home.comcast.net/~richarduie/

Answer 2

Easily.

There are plenty of server side languages which don't involve Microsoft products at all, and there are plenty of jobs which use them, or which have someone else writing the server side code.

Answer 3

do u like php? or flash game programming?