Silverlight or HTML 5 - what looks better on the resume?

Question

To a developer who is about to delve into learning Silverlight would you recommend that its worth the effort OR would you say its better to focus on HTML5? I am asking purely from a marketability perspective

Answer 1

Silverlight is a specialized platform, akin to flash. HTML (of any flavor) is more generalized. If the choice is only one or the other, ya gotta know HTML.

That said, HTML 5 is a ways down the road, and many software developers have already devised workarounds (including Flash and Silverlight) for the extra features that HTML 5 will give you sometime in the future.

Answer 2

I agree with Robert with regard to the proprietary nature of Silverlight, and if the decline in use of the competitor multimedia framework Flash in favour of HTML5 is anything to go by, then I'm going HTML5 all the way.

It is worth asking, however, where you intend to apply these technologies. If you're looking to work solely on the web, then go HTML5, no questions. If you would like to perhaps broaden your technological outlets at some point in the future, then Silverlight is worth considering, because not only can the framework be used to create powerful desktop applications under WPF, but Windows Phone 7 apps are written in Silverlight, too.

Answer 3

Silverlight : HTML5 :: Apples : Oranges

Perhaps you mean to compare Silverlight and <canvas>? HTML 5 is a much broader spec that affects semantic elements (<article> and <column> are some I think) AS WELL as rich-media that might compare with Silverlight.

I would say that an in-depth knowledge of the cutting edge of HTML 5 and how to reconcile that with the current user-base of your app with graceful degradation is far more valuable knowledge to have experience with than a proprietary plug-in whose future is uncertain compared to HTML 5.

**Edits in Bold

Answer 4

The main advantage of Silverlight is the transfer of skills if you have experience in the .net framework space. It is more prevalent on corporate intranets and extranets and in the long term becuase it is a closed proprietary technology you have to consider that it may face the same problems as flash is currently experiencing.

HTML 5 is the new standard for web development, so it means your skills transfer across a much wider spectrum - therefore marketability wise I would say it is a good option and it is not something that is going to go away. There are many useful and complementary skills to be learnt such as css and javascript.

There is some resistance by people to install a 3rd party plugin, Silverlight will never run on an android phone or an ipad / iphone. In years to come there will be more and more devices and the only common ground may we be a standards-based application development approach.

Answer 5

It depends on where you will work, but in most cases HTML5 will be better. The reason is that web technology has gotten lots of traction lately and experience with HTML5 will be valuable on many more platforms than Silverlight. Most platforms will benefit from HTML knowledge, but only a few will benefit from Silverlight. When you say HTML5 I would also assume some knowledge in JavaScript.

Many browsers already supports some HTML5 so you can easily start playing with technology now. A good start would be to play with this presentation in e.g. Google Chrome, Opera 10.5 or Firefox: http://apirocks.com/html5/html5.html

Answer 6

The question of the earnings potential of HTML5 vs Silverlight is interesting. To really get to the heart of the comparison you are looking at two very different jobs.

As an HTML5 domain expert you will be engaged in the presentation of information in ways that optimize search engine rankings, HTML is a markup language, or format and HTML5 extends the markup semantics. Programming against the HTML DOM is most often accomplished using JavaScript, a language which has not changed since 2000. This makes for an interesting work-day as you attempt to glean the inner workings of Google, Yahoo and the like in order to make your pages appear higher on the results page. You will be using JavaScript to wire together professionally written libraries and frameworks to achieve any interactive or client/server goals but must also provide usable non-JavaScript-enabled versions of your pages. Unless you hold a double major with Design being the second you can expect to spend time translating artwork to HTML in such a way that it looks good across a variety of screen resolutions. You will spend some hours testing your project changes against a growing matrix of operating systems and web browsers.

As a Silverlight domain expert you will be participating in designing user interface, user experience and implementing business logic using a markup named XAML and a programming language named C# which has changed greatly in the last 10 years. Your informed use of automated testing systems and components will keep time available to refine the look and feel of your project. Any skills you have in animation will be valued. You will be exposed to programming concepts like parallelism, reflection and type-safety. You will need to be learning new concepts and APIs on a weekly if not daily basis. You can be reasonably confident that what you create will look the same across all supported platforms, you will need to know the gritty, frustrating details of why this is not always true. You will be one small step from proficiency in WPF and Windows Phone 7, and can market yourself that way. You will still be spending time translating artwork to Silverlight but you won't need to test it nearly as much.

That should provide you with two quite different job scenarios, one or the other (perhaps both) of which you will probably be doing for a couple of years while you determine your specialization.

I suggest that you try to imagine which job you would most enjoy doing and pursue that. I am currently doing Silverlight/WPF and quite enjoy it, browser testing is anathema to me and I don't enjoy it, HTML5 will exacerbate the testing situation as different browsers implement features at different versions and in different ways - not to mention the platforms. Having said that I have several friends who are definitely thriving in and enjoying the world of HTML.

Basically, whatever you like doing more is what you should do because success in either field will require an interest in doing it. Interest, passion and good salaries are highly correlated in the tech world.

Answer 7

If you are seriously considering which of these technologies in which to specialize, I suggest you read this article:

http://silverlighthack.com/post/2010/02/08/Top-Reasons-why-HTML-5-is-not-ready-to-replace-Silverlight.aspx