ASP or XML or Javascript

[rlb_wpg]

I have the opportunity to take one of 3 courses.
1. ASP
2. XML
3. Javascript

Which, of these 3, is the easiest to learn on one's own?

Which, of these 3, is the hardest to learn on one's own?

Thanks,
rlb_wpg

[jdavison]

asp would probably be the easiest if you already know vb and javascript would probably be the hardest. But that all depends on what you know of each

[Active]

ASP is the Easiest !!! Take my Word...

If You are comfortable with C you can go easy with Javascript.

Xml is Easy..If you Put away learning DTDs or other Data modeling Schemas.

But For all this to happen you should have a sound knowledge of HTML.

[HarryW]

JavaScript is really very easy to pick up, with only a very loose understanding of C-style syntax.

ASP is just as easy, it's just VBScript with some added extra and some changed stuff.

XML is what I know least about, but from what I do know it's fairly simple, just like HTML. It's far stricter than HTML (it's a subset of SGML which is very strict) but that's a good thing really. Using XML is more of a design task than a coding task.

[jdavison]

depends on what they will be teaching in xml, are they going to be parsing the xml documents too. Its still not hard but will get more into some good uses for xml. I would go with the asp class myself, you can teach yourself javascript and xml. Seems asp is a big word on the market lately...not really so sure why since almost anybody can learn it.

[HarryW]

Thinking about it now I'd agree, go with ASP. It's easier to learn the others yourself, but t otest out ASP code you need to have a web server with ASP installed, and that's not so easy to get.

[jdavison]

personal webserver runs it if he has it. But the fact that he had the class would make it more valuable than learning it himself. I learned it myself but was fortunate to have a job that allowed me to implement it so i got experience.

[alex_read]

Sod the easiest !

XML in the next few years is where all the money is going to be. Rather than learning it later. Use this as more & more options are leaning toward that way

[jdavison]

true but he will get exposed and experience with it anyway. Asp will get him started quicker since its in more demand. Then he can learn xml in the workforce. Its simple enough to pick up and implement.

[rlb_wpg]

I'm the only programmer where I work and will be coding everything from scratch (using notepad or vi).

It's great because they allow me to learn and accept what I can and (somewhat) what I can't do.
On the other hand, I have no one to learn from and that can be frustrating.
Also, the company's cheap. The idea of buying a software product (I've been screaming for ActiveReports for almost a year) is preposterous.

I do have a background in C (not C++) and have been using Visual Basic for awhile. I've picked up and used rudimentary Vbscript but would like my intranet reports to be more user friendly and dynamic.

The class starts in 3 weeks and I still haven't decided.
Although it looks like the current preference is ASP.

Thanks!