Some of you might be wondering why I've been focusing on JavaScript lately.

The answer is simple: The world of web development is evolving and changing. Whereas a few years ago almost all work was done on the server-side, much of the work is now being done on the client side, turning web pages into full-featured web applications.

The language behind such client-side work is JavaScript.

If you want to write AJAX software, you really need to be extremely proficient in JavaScript. JavaScript isn't just a toy language for animating text in the browser. It's a powerful language that you'll want to master; otherwise your AJAX skills won't develop as far as you'd like.

Of course, you'll still need server-side programming, and that's where ASP.NET and other server-side languages come in.

But learn JavaScript. Trust me, your resume will benefit.