Java and .NET [Very Serious]

[ComputerJy]

is Silverlight platform independent? I know it's browser independent.

Not yet

For web development, ASP.NET and Java can both be used to accomplish the same things and are completely cross-platform; Java running applets locally while ASP.NET runs remotely. As long as the web server is IIS, there is no issue here.

ASP.Net requires Window server so it's not platform independent. If we're talking servers. On the other hand java requires Jakarta which is platform independent as far as I know

[penagate]

This post is a few weeks old, but I thought it important to respond anyway:

Yeah, although if you ask any anti-IE web dev, they will tell you its all IEs fault for not adhering to www standards, and that is what supposedly causes the cross browser issues.

Not "supposedly": it's the truth, and a well-known fact. But don't just take my word for it: ask the IE team yourself, or read their blog, which contains lots of entries about how they're gradually improving IE so that after about 8 years of stagnation it'll finally be catching up to modern web standards. It's a well-known fact that it is by far easiest to develop for Mozilla, Opera, and Webkit, and then add tweaks to compensate for IE's various quirks and shortcomings. Developing for IE and then tweaking for all other browsers is simply a nightmare.

Trust me, no-one wants IE to improve more than the web developers who hate what it is now.

[Jenner]

They announced IE8 passed the Acid2 test which is pretty impressive. Even Firefox 2 doesn't pass it but it comes a heck of a lot closer than IE7 which totally mangles the page.

As a side note, the up-coming Firefox 3 also passes the test.

[Zaid]

I think .Net in the next few years will dominate the market because it is improving so fast , there is a lot of signs :
1. checkout amazon and check out how many new books talking about .Net as compared to java
2. try to use google for searching about any code in .Net , you will find the code you are searching for , But with java not always you will find the code you are searching for

Java has one privilege that .Net has not , which is cross-platform
if .Net can get that privilege i am sure java will end in one year