As the number of people using the world wide web (WWW) increases, there is a growing pressure on developers to create rich web applications that are functionally similar to traditional desktop applications. And while good content is key to any website's success, people also expect interactive features such as polls, feedback, discussion groups, photos, video streaming and forums.

In order to create a web application that is functionally similar to a desktop application, technologies other than plain HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are normally employed. Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight are two competing technologies that can be used to deliver high-impact, rich web content.

Perhaps the most promising technology that is now being used to build rich web applications is Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX). AJAX allows web applications to retrieve data from a server asynchronously, in the background, without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing web page. AJAX can be used to implement anything from a relatively simple user interface component such as a news ticker, to an interactive mapping application such as Google Maps or Microsoft's Virtual Earth.

AJAX is a very appealing technology because it is supported by practically every modern web browser. Furthermore, a well designed website that employs AJAX can also function, albeit less gracefully, with JavaScript disabled. This graceful degradation of functionality should also ensure that the bulk of a website's content can be indexed by search engines such as Google.

Ultimately, as a web developer, the technologies you use will depend on what it is you are trying to achieve. If you are creating an internet facing website that contains video content, you will most likely use Flash to deliver that content. Silverlight can be used to deliver video content, but uptake of this technology has been slow. Flash is ubiquitous and so almost guaranteed to be installed on an end user's computer. Sites like YouTube use Flash to display video content as well as AJAX to enhance user experience by, for example, providing auto complete functionality on search boxes.

Whatever technologies you use, have fun!