Web Developer Training for the 21st Century...

[donnie7]

Hello Forum Members,
I would like to know, for a beginning web developer today, what applications are most important to learn? Want to be able to get up to speed and keep an eye on where the future is going. Looks like it's going to be dynamic internet/network enabled apps. What tools I will need to know to be competitive and earn a living? Just like HTLM morphed into XHTML and now XML, I'd like to be able to master the tools for creating solid web applications. What software languages would I need to know? Is java still important? What about new tools like flash, adobe air and flex? What about php, ajax, ruby, .net and others? Where should I start? Most interested in web/internet and social networking applications. Your input and advice is most welcome. Thank you for listening. Respectfully, Donnie Dixon

 

[angelwatt]

All of the technologies you listed are applicable plus more. Just depends on who you end up working for. Some places only care about you knowing M$ development environments, while others want you to know the open source stuff (PHP, MySQL, etc.). "Most" important is really hard to say. PHP is definitely good to know along with (X)HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some places may want you to now the Adobe software (Flash, Photoshop, etc.) other places won't care if you know it.

Just start small and learn as you can. Trust me, you'll never run out of things to learn for web design/development. Though be sure to make yourself a little more expertise in a language you like working in just to give yourself some focus. If you want to eventually work on social networking type web apps you'll want to have a good database understanding and be able to create SQL statements to access databases.

Some RSS feeds I read to attempt to keep up with web design news:

• 456 Berea Street - http://www.456bereastreet.com/feed.xml
• A List Apart - http://alistapart.com/rss.xml
• Boxes and Arrows - http://feeds.feedburner.com/BoxesAndArrows_Stories
• JeffCroft.com Journal - http://www2.jeffcroft.com/feeds/blog/