Quick Question about different programming

[Orome]

Hello,

New to the forum.

I have been a web developer for a number of years, but mostly just consisting HTML, CSS, Photoshop, i.e. the Basics

I am working on catching up on all of the technologies and wanted some good recommendations from other web gurus.

The following are some things I want to learn and work on: (also which should I work on more?)

MySQL or Access or Both
PHP or ASP or BOTH
Ruby on Rails?
Silverlight?
AJAX?
Dreamweaver or Frontpage? (I used to build site with Notepad and am a HomeSite lover and Hand-Coder)

I just need some advice on what to work on first. What will get me a better job. What do I need to focus on?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
David

 

[Brian Angel]

Hello. I used to hand code also but found myself doing an odd combo of notepad+ and dreamweaver now. As far as languages go I first desided on making sure I knew java and its librarys. As far as server side, I went with PHP and Mysql as its a good combo and well, free,lol. Ruby will be next on my agenda.

 

[v2Media]

I'd forget java and learn javascript - two very different languages for different purposes.

My vote would be for php/mysql as far as server side processing/data. Ruby is still in it's infancy, has marginal supporting web hosts, and lacks documentation. ASP.NET, CF, JSP, and all the rest you'll find more difficult to pick up than php.

Forget SilverLight, it's an MS thang and has doubtful value beyond MS web apps.

Instead of ajax, get a good grip on the basics of javascript and then pick up jQuery. jQuery has ajax built in and is as simple to use as load();

FrontPage is something office secretaries use to build scones & tarts websites for the school P&A association during coffee breaks - give it a wide berth.

Dreamweaver is OK, but don't rely on it code for you (beyond basic html/css). Use it as an editor on steroids.

 

[onsker]

just for ruby on rails

Hi Orome,

I have used PHP and Java for web development for a long time and this last 2 or so years i have been using Ruby on Rails, i have to say, Ruby is far far superior. I dont agree with V2media statement at all (although it would be true 2 years ago), Ruby on Rails is quite mature, it has excellent documentation and support, the amount of plugins available is amazing and will save you a lot of work (e.g simple form http://github.com/plataformatec/simple_form and devise http://github.com/plataformatec/devise , haml http://haml-lang.com/ to name just a few).
Essentialy you can do in a day an web app that would take days if not weeks(months?) to get it done in PHP with the same quality.

That said, most shared hosts suck when it comes to support for ruby on rails, and suck for most stuff anyway. shared hosts (e.g) are good for family blogs or small businesses websites, not serious developers.
If you are serious about web development you should go for vps or dedicated like amazon, you will pay 3/4$ more per month and essentially get your own computer with complete access, and can then update if needed.

If you go into ruby on rails, make sure to learn ruby first, ruby is a very powerful and flexible language, and you can easily create 'sub languages' (DSL) with it, thus many things look like "magic" on rails when in fact its just the language flexibility at work.

you can check some the docs at http://guides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html
also make sure to check this screencast to get you started
http://media.rubyonrails.org/video/rails_blog_2.mov

also, if you serious about this, forget windows, either get a mac or install linux (e.g ubuntu)

 

[Orome]

@onsker
Thanks for the info. I have been doing a lot of reading on Ruby, Ruby on Rails, etc... and agree. What I have seen is wonderful and I plan on learning it.

What I really need is kind of a starting guide. I KNOW I need to learn/refresh my database programming i.e. MySQL / Access (which should I learn or learn first?)

Then I should learn PHP or ASP but leaning towards PHP because it fits so well with MySQL.

While learning these.. (I have a PC at the moment and that is what I have to use) should I go with Dreamweaver? Stick with HomeSite? or what is the best to use with the above? i.e. php, asp, wshatever.

Refresh my Photoshop, Javascript, etc..

Then I will go into AJAX, RUBY etc... (I have seen LOTS of jobs requiring AJAX so I may lean towards that)

I searching jobs I have seen NUMEROUS Web Developer jobs requiring AJAX, Silverlight, RUBY, along with the obvious HTML, CSS, Dreamweaver.

I just kind of wanted to get opinions on what I should learn first, second, third, etc...


Thank you al for the advice so far. It is much apppreciated.

Sincerely,
Orome

 

[bcee]

FrontPage is something office secretaries use to build scones & tarts websites for the school P&A association during coffee breaks - give it a wide berth

Hahaa, never read a description more fitting.

IMO forget silverlight, learn HTML5/CSS3/XHTML1/1.1 and Javascript with jquery (or another lib), PHP/SQL is always handy. It really depends on what you want to achieve.

 

[smoovo]

Very simple

PHP is free and most powerful. MySQL fits PHP and makes it interesting. AJAX is a must but not before PHP and MySQL.

Go with this order and you will be more than fine.

By the way... Use DreamWeaver, you will be grateful. It's very easy to code, and also easy to upload your stuff.

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