Your Web Toolkit, Opinions on Languages, Applications, and Learning Options

[JonHMChan]

This isn't exactly meant to be a novice-friendly discussion, but I wanted to know everyone's opinions on the pros and cons of some of the web languages and applications that are being used on the internet at an intermediate or advanced level. I just decided to get rather aggressive about learning other web lang/apps and I thought it would be a good idea to ask others' opinions before I (and others that might take a look at this thread) take the time to go learn them. Of course, I also think this would make for a very interesting discussion.

- What languages/applications do you use for web design/programming (your toolkit), for how long, and why? Are there aspects about your toolkit that you wish it could do? What is your dream toolkit?
- What is your opinion of other languages/applications, and do you think they are worth learning or using? Why or why not?
- What do you think is the best way to go about learning other lang/apps? How did you learn the lang/apps in your toolkit?

I'll withhold my own reply for now so that there aren't any skewed answers. Any answers would be great, and I hope that this might help out other people who stumble along.

Some topics
HTML, PHP, Javascript, XML, CSS, Python, Ruby, MySQL, Flash, Actionscript 2.0/3.0, L/AMP, AJAX, phpMyAdmin, Photoshop, Illustrator, OOP, ASP, Oracle, VBScript, Django, Rails, Sinatra, TextMate, Dreamweaver

[JonHMChan]

My Languages/Applications

• XHTML My primary language combination using CSS stylesheets and HTML. I find myself spending most of my time working with XHTML because there are many things that I don't think are suitable for Flash (such as Content Management Systems and Database driven websites). I just recently started to use XHTML since I found little use for it until I started to work with databases and dynamic content.
• PHP/MySQL As I said before, my first database/server-side combination. Since learning the combination, I've found it extremely useful, especially since my emphasis has switched to cloud-computing. Like I said before, I only recently got into database/server-side scripting to make up for things that Flash couldn't reliably do. My only wish is that there were also client-side capabilities as well (which is a big reason I'd like to learn Javascript and utilize AJAX).
• SwishMax This is a simplified version of Flash that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to use Flash content. This was the first tool that I used to get myself introduced to Flash-like components, as the language that it utilizes, Swishscript, is very similar to Actionscript 2.0 (AS2). It makes people who are intimidated by Flash, especially with the onset of the phenomenally more complex AS3 that came with Flash CS4. Even though I'm very comfortable with Adobe's Flash and AS2, I still find myself using Swish for projects that I need to get done quickly and without all the complexities of Flash itself.
• Dreamweaver CS4 My new best friend since learning XHTML and PHP/MySQL. It's literally cut my production time in half and allowed me to go ahead and use AJAX elements that I haven't learned yet (Dreamweaver's simplified AJAX library). If people are still hand-coding without any help from a program like Dreamweaver or TextMate, you need to stop and get this right now.
• Flash CS4 (ActionScript 2.0) For more complex Flash applications and animations that I simply cannot do without. This is what has given me an edge so far when it comes to design, and is my greatest asset to prospective clients.
• Remaining Adobe CS4 Of course, programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Soundbooth, and Contribute are very useful. I still need to become completely comfortable with these applications, but I think I should be able to in no time.
• Audacity The best freeware audio editing software I have ever used. I usually only need to edit audio to clip and to do simple adjustments (volume, fades, compilations). But since I got Adobe Soundbooth, I think that this will become outdated very quickly.
• Fetch My old FTP client for Mac before I started using Dreamweaver. Very useful, clean, and has great integration with certain text-editing software like TextWrangler. If you have a mac and need a FTP client that's free, get this one.
• TextWrangler Made hand-coding so much easier than doing it in TextEdit or Notes. 'nuff said.

I think specifically for web-developers, an understanding of PHP/MySQL, AJAX, and Flash/AS3 and comfortable use of Adobe CS4 Web Premium (Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Soundbooth) is ideal.

My Opinion of other Languages/Applications

I very recently started learning more complex languages and applications. You can say that I am just starting to use higher-level languages and applications, but from a different angle (since I've been designing for so long now using raw HTML and Flash/AS2). Over the last month or so, I've become fluent in basic PHP/MySQL, XHTML, and have become comfortable using Dreamweaver CS4. Right now, I'm in the process of learning Javascript (for full AJAX), and am getting into OOP for PHP/MySQL and to transition into learning AS3 for Flash (which is entirely OOP). So for now, my opinion of these languages is very high.

As for other languages like Python, and Ruby on Rails, I should say first that my work is centered almost entirely on the web. The reason that I find myself using web-specific applications in general is because of the potential I see in cloud-computing and server-side AI applications. Even though there are some limitations to using web-specific applications (especially when it comes to the level of complexity and higher-language capabilities, i.e. PHP) I find that learning languages that are vastly beyond the scope of my needs and complexity isn't worth my time yet.

Learning Other Languages/Applications

I think you absolutely need to get a instructed hands-on experience with any language to learn it. I think it's best if I explain it in the way that I learned:

I started to learn HTML and Flash/AS2 simply by playing around with it. Solely through online tutorials and a few speckled videos here and there let me get comfortable with those two elements. When I felt that I needed to expand my repertoire, I started to actually buy books and try and do things with that (when I started PHP/MySQL), but I still felt I couldn't get comfortable with the languages by reading and getting hands on with it either. I thought that doing this copying and testing approach by book. Then I found my gold mine: http://lynda.com/

I absolutely recommend it to anyone who needs to learn any program or become fluent in any language for a fraction of the price that you would pay for courses, books, or time spent on incomplete online tutorials. I'm not trying to advertise, but this has made my designing/programming/workflow efficiency capabilites go through the roof. Lynda.com is an expansive, well-organized, constantly-updated library of online video tutorials that will get you up and at new langauges and applications at lightning speed. Before, I felt as though learning certain languages (JS, XHTML, PHP/MySQL) would be a huge time commitment, but not it's only a matter of time.