The following are some of the established languages and software programs used by Information Technology experts today. This information and the materials available on the engineer’s or designer’s websites will prove highly useful for you to better understand your computer training options and be well-informed to select the right computer training for you.

ASP.NET – This is a highly developed version of the original ASP web programming language envisaged to build, deploy, and execute distributed application and web applications. It is a component of the MS .NET Framework. ASP .NET operates in all browsers, allowing you flexibility with language options. Included in its framework is a built-in support for VB.NET, C#, and Jscript. You can write ASP in any text editor, but products like Visual Studio.NET allow you many user-friendly drag/drop/double-click features. ASP.NET functions offer rich class framework such as XML, access, file upload, performance monitoring and logging, regular expressions, image generation, , transactions, messaging queuing, Standard Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail, etc. For further details or a free download, visit http://www.asp.net/.

Visual C# – C## is an innovative programming language and tool that is object-oriented for building .NET connected software. Used for MS Windows, the Web, and a variety of other devices, C# resembles both the C++ and Java syntax. Its integrated development environment (IDE) is flexible in its capability, allowing it to build solutions across a variety of platforms. Offers include unified type system, “unsafe” code for maximum control, and new comprehensive language constructs for developers. You can easily build web forms and XML web services using Visual C# WYSIWYG functionality. Visual C# .NET retail price is $109. For further details or purchase C#, visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/vcsharp/.

The Common Gateway Interface – CGI is a standard that provides external gateway programs an interface with information servers. Often, CGI is written for the web to produce dynamic information, with he difference between CGI and HTML being that HTML is a static document and exists in a constant state, whereas CGI is run in real-time and can thus output changing information. Generally, CGI is used for forms or inputs in HTML documents. It is a protocol suite for execution of programs on a server, allowing for portable general-purpose API that are not limited to HTML pages. One challenge to CGI is that it has many security risks, but many of its features add interactivity to web sites. Common practice uses Perl as a tool to manipulate or access data from CGI scripts. For further details, visit http://cgi.resourceindex.com/.

The Distributed Component Object Model – DCOM is a seamless evolution of COM (Component Object Model) allowing development of component-based applications. It is a protocol that provides direct communication for software components over a network. It was developed my Microsoft to ensure reliability, security, and efficiency in network communications (including the Internet). In the onset, it was referred to as Network OLE. Distributed COM is designed for use across multiple network transports. It operates with Java applets and ActiveX with the COM (Component Object Model). For further details visit http://www.microsoft.com/com/tech/DCOM.asp.

Hyper Text Markup Language – HTML is the standard language used to disseminate hypertext on the web. This non-proprietary format is based upon SGML and is a non-secure language i.e. works on all browsers. You can use a simple text editor or advanced software like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage to write html. HTML is a library of tags providing format definition. HTML was design primarily for format, thus other languages have been developed to define more dynamic features, have more control, and to animate the user experience. These include XHTML, JavaScript, and XML.

Java – A programming language developed by Sun, serving as a complete solution for networked or embedded applications. There are three different technologies: Enterprise Java Software (J2EE), Core Java Software (J2SE), and Java Mobility Software (J2ME). When a user requests Java over the Internet it will run on a local machine, thus conserving resources. This feature defines Java as one of the top languages for security, making virus transmission almost impossible. Java is platform-independent, allowing developers to only make one version of their program. It is open source and free – for further details or to download the latest version visit http://java.sun.com/.

Perl – A high-level programming language initially written by Larry Wall, it derives from C programming language and a variety of others. The process, file and text manipulation facilities make it easy to use for system utilities, software tools, prototyping, system management tasks, graphical programming, database access, networking, and www programming. General users include system administrators, CGI script authors, journalists, mathematicians, geneticists, and managers. Perl is a free, open distribution language currently on release version 5.0. It has over time been modularized, object-oriented, tweaked, trimmed, and optimized to the point of looking much unlike the original code. Through the years, however, the interface has remained mostly the same. For further details or to download the source code, visit http://www.perl.com.

Hypertext Preprocessor – PHP is a scripting language widely used due to its easy incorporation into HTML. It is a derivative of C, Java, and Perl that allows you to quickly and dynamically develop pages. The current version on release is PHP 4. Different versions can run simultaneously; PHP is written within HTML but processed on the server. It can be used as a server-side scripting language requiring a PHP parser, a web server, and a web browser. However you can also use it for command line scripting that simply requires a PHP parser. Uniquely, PHP allows you to write client-side GUI applications. PHP can be used on all major operating systems. For further details or a download of the latest version, visit http://www.php.net/.

Visual Basic.NET – VB.NET is a language used to generate web applications and Windows desktop applications. It is very similar to ASP.NET, offering enhanced visual design, increased application performance, and powerful integrated development environment (IDE). It is perfect for web applications with the included web form designer. Many drag-and-drop features speed up production time. The ability to modify the standard code behind the forms allows for the creation of a completely custom look and feel. The code can execute on any platform or server. Other features include smart device application with integrated support for .NET Compact Framework and simple data access. Visual Basic .NET Standard Edition retails at $109. For further details, visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/.

Extensible Markup Language – XML is a language that provides a format for data or document description. The documents must contain structured information i.e. pictures, words. Markup languages identify structures in documents. Whereas the semantics and tags in HTML are fixed, XML is dynamic, and can thus be defined as a meta-language for describing markup languages or defining tags and structural relationships. No predefined tags are set, hence there are no preconceived semantics. XML is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) specifications and an application profile of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). For further details, visit http://www.xml.com/.

C/C++ – C is a computer language; C++ was developed from C. C++ is a dominant general-purpose object-oriented programming language that was the brainchild of Bjarne Stroustrup. C++ facilitated memory management and added on several features – including a new data type known as a class. Classes further allowed object-oriented programming. C++ maintained the inventive C intent, which allowed for low-level memory access, but also gave the programmer new tools that simplified memory management. It can be used to produce small programs or large applications as well as to create CGI scripts or console-only DOS programs. After writing the C/C++ code, you need a compiler to compile it. C++ can create almost any program. For further details, visit http://www.cprogramming.com/.

Visual Basic – VB is a language used to develop web applications and Windows desktop applications. VB.NET is very similar to ASP.NET. VB.NET offers superior visual design, amplified application performance, and powerful integrated development environment (IDE). VB.NET is ideal for web applications with the built-in web form designer. The web form designer has many drag-and-drop features to speed up creation time. The ability to revise the standard code behind the forms allows you to create an absolutely custom look and feel. The code can run on any platform or server. Other key features include smart device application with integrated support for .NET Compact Framework and simple data access. Visual Basic .NET Standard Edition is $109. For further details, visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/.