Client side languages

Question

I am not a web programmer, so please excuse my ignorance. When it comes to server side programming, we have plethora of technologies available, such as PHP, ASP.net, JSP and so on.

However, when it comes to client side scripting, I have only heard of JavaScript and AJAX. Maybe you can also include Java Applets, as they run on the client. A relatively new one is also the Google's native client. But are there any more client side technologies which exist and are popular?

Flash Adobe is a proprietary technology which might do what you might want. I suggest avoiding it when possible. And http://opalang.org/ mixes server & client programming in a single unified language. — Basile Starynkevitch, Mar 10 '12 at 18:45
Not directly related, but do note that the client is not always running the same browser and the same version. For the server-side, it basically doesn't matter what you choose since you have control over it. For the client side, there are considerable limitations, especially when it comes to the fact a lot of people are running IE8-. — pimvdb, Mar 10 '12 at 18:46
Ajax isn't a language.... it's a technology for communicating between client and server (it stands for "Asynchronous JavaScript and XML"). Other client-side languages include Flash and ActiveX, although they're not universally available. — Mark Baker, Mar 10 '12 at 18:47

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:48

AJAX is just a buzzword, it's not a language. Google's Native Client is similar to NSAPI, you can use it to create plugins (it doesn't really count). Google is also pushing a new client-side language called Dart that will probably go nowhere, and old IE versions support VBScript.

So, you have JavaScript, VBScript (sort of) and Dart (sort of).

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:50

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So far JavaScript is the only ubiquitous client-side technology, as Flash fades away. Google works on Dart language which they expect to make a replacement for JavaScript, and there exist several other less popular things (CoffeeScript, Opa etc). All mentioned ones (starting with Dart) are either run out of browser using their native interpreters or are compiled into JavaScript for client-side use. There also exists GWT, a toolkit that lets you write in Java and compile the code again to JavaScript.

answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:50

Eugene Mayevski 'Callback

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Is there a client that runs Coffeescript natively now? – steveax Mar 10 '12 at 18:54
@steveax I don't know such thing, but anything is possible, I think. – Eugene Mayevski 'Callback Mar 10 '12 at 19:26

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:46

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Adobe Flash is very popular ;) and also Activex...

answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:46

elrado

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score -2 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:52

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Some of the client side scripting languages are Python, Perl and there's Ruby too etc...But mostly, all server side ones are capable of client side programming.

answered Mar 10 '12 at 18:52

DarkKnight

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I think all of the above are not applicable in context of the question (which is about web applications as tags indicate). – Eugene Mayevski 'Callback Mar 10 '12 at 19:27

Client side languages

4 Answers4

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