I'm looking for alternatives to client side Javascript in web programming, because for me this language just plain sucks. I mean I am indeed impressed of the capabilities jquery or other javascript-frameworks accomplish, but for myself programming in javascript is a pain in the rump. I would like to replace it without sacrifice functionality.
But I think there is no real alternative, at least I'm not aware of.
What is your recommendation?
Javascript is an awesome beast when tamed. Learn it and love it. :)
I'm also not quite sure what your experiences are with jQuery, but I am a big fan of it because it lets you do what you want to do very, very, easily. Just hang in there.
My recommendation is to suck it up and use Javascript. There are some great frameworks out there that make your life quite a bit easier, so explore!
The only other well-adopted option is Flash.
Well it looks like you've already got a bit of a head start. jQuery or other frameworks are extremely powerful and can make your life much easier. My suggestion would be to learn one or more of these frameworks, and practice practice practice. Nowadays, web applications (at least the ones I'm involved with) implement as much front-end logic as they do back-end logic.
My opinion is that you're not going to be able to avoid Javascript if you're planning to do web development. Sure, you might be able to replace some functionality by using Flash/Flex, but you'll end up interfacing with Javascript at some point anyhow.
Take a look at Flash/Flex/Silverlight/Moonlight. We all know Javascript is a wild beast that needs some getting used to.
Javascript can be rough because it is running in browser environments that you have little control over. Firebug on firefox is an immense help.
The Google Web Toolkit allows you to write in java and "compiles" to javascript. More info on it here: http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/
Back to javascript, it is best to start small and understand what is going on. If you always start with frameworks, it is very hard to know the "how" behind it. But really, once you deal with a few cross-browser bugs, it's not too bad!
Like any language, you can write "clear" code, or "unclear" code. If you choose the former, you can turn it from a Pain-in-the-rump, to a pleasure.
I avoided JavaScript for years, after realizing the huge resources that were having to go into browser compatibility, bug fixing (theirs, not ours), etc. Some projects, it was eating up more time and budget that the actual development.
I've recently started using it again, not directly, but via jQuery, and am pretty happy with it. Especially in terms of browser compatibility. It seems to be pretty stable, and works very well across multiple browsers, with a minimum of bugs to be worked around..
I don't really think you will be able to avoid JavaScript for much longer with the direction webdev has taken. If you want to have ajax, or even just a good dynamic interface, you will need to do some work on the client end, and JS seems to be IT for the moment.
I still hate working in it, but I think that's because I avoided it so long, I forgot how to think that way.
As I pick it up, its coming back to me, and I find that it adds quite a bit of power to what I can do.