Calvin,

To hit you specific question first: Java is an object oriented language, with syntax very similar to C++. It was created by Sun Microsystems as a language that ran inside of a browser, thereby making it OS-independent (in theory). The idea here is that the browser itself is the OS, and if the browser supports Java, then any Java app would run fine. Many hoped this would break MS's stranglehold on our lives, but so far that has not happened. Java is a client-side tool, meaning that the code executes on the client's PC.

I'm afraid I know little about Javascript and VBScript, as I only heard them defined for the first time at Devcon. Someone else will have to chime in.


Now, as to whether and what we should learn, here is my $.02.

It seems to me that once upon a time you could be a programmer and get away without doing structured programming. Sooner or later, though, all higher programming languages became structured and nobody who wanted to call himself a programmer wrote unstructured code.

Then along came Object-oriented programming and the same thing happened. IMHO, nobody should call himself a programmer unless he is doing OOP.

It now appears, again IMHO, that the definition of a programmer will soon (if it has not already) include the ability to create web apps. This doesn't tell us which to learn: Jscript, Java, or VBScript. It means simply that we must learn *something* that will let us accomplish our goals in the web-enabled world.

>I admit to being confused between Java,Javascript, and Jscript. Question: Do you think it is worthwhile as a VFP programmer to acquire an ability to work with JScript? Can I use it to do things that VFP can't do?