Kindly give me a brief explanation in the difference between a programmer and a web developer. are the two serve the same purpose, i think i need to understand.

Web developer is also known as a web programmer.
A programmer is a general term for network,computer,dsp, web programmers. E.t.c.
I will say a web developer is a programmer for the web.

Web developer is also known as a web programmer.
A programmer is a general term for network,computer,dsp, web programmers. E.t.c.
I will say a web developer is a programmer for the web.

A web developer is a person who develops websites and possibly web applications.

Not all web developers are programmers, but most web developers tend to learn web based programming languages like php, Javascript and co,

A programmer is a developer of application,

A Web developer or a Web programmer is somebody who writes script on a website that is such programmes application on the web but a programmer is not limited to web only but could also write desktop application that is customised application such as application for offices that has nothing to do with web. That is to say that programmer is not restricted but web developer is restricted. I think that answers your question.

stevewise1:

A Web developer or a Web programmer is somebody who writes script on a website that is such programmes application on the web but a programmer is not limited to web only but could also write desktop application that is customised application such as application for offices that has nothing to do with web. That is to say that programmer is not restricted but web developer is restricted. I think that answers your question.

you may be right there but sometimes a script Programmer is not a software developer as software development is related to data base Storage building and others

Donpuzo:

A web developer is a person who develops websites and possibly web applications.

Not all web developers are programmers, but most web developers tend to learn web based programming languages like php, Javascript and co,

A programmer is a developer of application,

This is the answer to your question.

Application could mean software too.

A developer and a programmer are the same. They create codes that make site works. They are proficient with any of the languages like java, html, php, python, vb etc

A Web Designer, on the other hand, is different mostly because they deal with graphics interphase presentation. They dont have to be programmers. Most peaople using Joomla and other CMS software to put together a website are designers. The code exists already, they just assemble and cut or paste one html or the other here and there to achieve desired effects.

A web designer is not a web developer, i think developers are more of programmers than designer, i developer may not know much about the interface design (some people do know) and a designer also don’t know about programming but some people do both. like me

Programmer, is a general terms used to describe those who instruct computer to perform action based on the instruction. In the programming world, developers are more of implementer than those who deign the library been implemented.

Join me at http://www.tuwana.com . FREEMIND PLACE FOR PROGRAMMERS

Web development is a sub-set of programming. In order words, most programmers are web developers but not all web developers are programmers.

Search GooGLE for more resuLts

If we are not careful with Terminologies, we might just mix things up for the sake for definition.
In my opinion a web developer or a programmer, are pretty much the same people, as long as they are technical in their own way.

Most web developers including those that use GUI like dreamweaver, HTML pro have HTML basic, as such they are programmers. HTML is a high level progamming language. They also play around with scripting Languages most especially client side scripting languages. If you go through the undergraduate curriculum for software engineering you will find out that a software engineer is a programmer that iss some how an achitect, cos programming is one aspect of software development

Below is a caption of of a publication I will want you to go through.

Now, to the ultimate IT skill, programming. It is a very old IT skill. In fact, it makes everything happen. The first programmer in the world is a lady called Ada Byron, her work is the first intended algorithm to be processed by a machine. She foresaw the ability of computers to go beyond mere calculation or number crunching. Everything you see is some sort of codes, I mean programs, and I mean software. If the internet is a car, then software is its engine. The business world has plenty to lose if software fails. When software fails, millions of dollars are lost and sometimes people are killed. It is like this; functions makes up commands, and commands makes up programs and programs finally makes up software. Therefore, if you have a degree in software engineering, you should be conversant with some programming skills like Java, C/C++, HTML, Perl etc.
Programming can be very difficult, but also very rewarding. It is the highest paying and time consuming IT skill. I will never forget how happy I was when I compiled and ran my first COBOL program in Zaria in 1996. I started programming in Dbase and now I am into C/C++ to enhance my security skills. Now, how you go about your programming career is the big issue you will have to deal with.

The major goal of any programming language is to bridge the gap between the programmer's brain and the computer. Most of the popular languages you've probably heard of, like C, C++, C#, and Java, are considered high-level languages, which means that they're closer to human language than machine language. What I mean is that you write source codes that looks like English, then you run it into a program that outputs 0s and 1s that the CPU understands. It is important to note that you can program in high level, middle level or lower level language. The High Level Language is a machine-independent, sophisticated programming language that uses familiar English (or any human language) like syntax. The lower level language as I said is a machine readable language, while the middle level language can only call functions and it shares both attributes of the higher and the lower level language. Compilers translate High Level Language to machine readable language. Also, you can program with either object oriented or non-object oriented program. What is an Object Oriented Program? Programs are usually made up of objects. In a non object oriented program like FORTRAN which is still in use today, the programs are executed in a highly procedural manner( step by step) i.e from A to B to C to D and so on. In an Object Oriented Program the objects can interact irrespective of hierarchy, one can get from A to D without passing through B and D. The business world is object oriented. In Nigerian institutes of higher learning, students of computer science begin with BASIC and FORTRAN. In the UK, students are introduced to Pascal in their first year. All these languages teach you the basics of programming that helps you understand how to think while programming in any language. However, with line numbers, GOTO commands, etc, in these languages, it does not encourage structured, modular programming like Perl, Python, and C.

Nowadays there are so many different choices in programming and some are more suited to certain applications than others are. If you are doing mainly web stuff, PHP, Perl, ASP, are some good tools for you. Perl, php and python mentioned above are scripting languages and they can do the work of each other. Scripting languages are called interpreted languages because they don’t need to be converted to 1s and 0s. Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is a general purpose programming Language derived from C basically for text manipulation. It was created by a linguist called Larry Wall who got the name Perl from the Gospel of Mathew in the new testament in The Parable of Pearl. Scripting languages enable fast development, though there is usually a performance penalty. Even within scripting languages we have server side scripting languages like php, Perl and client side scripting languages like JavaScript.



When venturing into programming, I always recommend C. It is about the best language to learn how to program. In addition, it is incredibly powerful (the fact that almost all exploits and low-level handling is written in C is a proof). Besides, you need to learn the issues that come along with writing in a language like C. Perl and Python are great, but I think they are too high level. They take away many of the important decisions. You do not need to think about data-types too much. Therefore, Python will provide a quick learning curve with real results for less time invested.

Python also has an ordered way of doing things, so it will teach discipline.
Python can be scaled for larger projects and has good community support. This means, it will be a language that is versatile. Despite that, C is the choice because it appears fundamental to many other languages and it is a lot more "pure" i.e. in handling memory better. However, this is at the cost of the speed of development. Start with C and every other thing is easy.

The argument of which programming language to start with or stick to is a never-ending one; be it C, C++, java or Python. Python seems easy, powerful and well documented. Python, PERL and PHP as I said earlier are the kind of languages that you can stick with and play forever, making all kinds of useful apps and interfaces. The great thing is you see fast results. Just as soon as you read a couple of pages describing the basic syntax, rules and constructs, you are ready to go (by referring to the function list for whatever you need of course). Mistakes often do not bring punishment and you need not to be concerned with some of the behind-the-scenes stuffs, like the memory allocations etc. Of course, let us not forget that some real developers bother with these to allow us to work without them. That is the difference between C and scripting languages. With C, you get to see things the way they actually work on your computer -better even, make them work yourself, while in Python for instance you only mess with things that appear more directly functional and practical. Depending on one's interests and needs, he might find the extra control of C exciting.

If someone gets seriously involved with a powerful high-level language that provides the wanted results with small effort, it is easy to get used to it. However, I still stick to my recommendation - start directly with C, because other languages may spoil you enough to stay away from C later on. Moreover, if you are a very ambitious person, then start with C/C++. However, if you are the mere play code type, start with Perl. Perl is fun, and for someone just starting to get their feet in programming, you are less likely to get discouraged when some odd error keeps your first few programs from working. In addition, it is hard not to stay interested when you go on CPAN and see a module that is easy and fun and allows you to connect and use IRC. Even a beginner can boast of some skill, and then you start learning because it is fun. Then, later you can move to C/C++.


Programming is like a chameleon that changes color in different environments. Structured programming like C does not allow any bad habits and you have to learn how to structure your programming properly. When you use a language that forces you to structure your programs properly, once you have mastered it, it really does not matter what language you wish to use after that, your programs will always be structured correctly and thus much easier to write and design even large complex applications. You also have to bear in mind what you are going to be creating applications for we are in the .NET arena and Object Oriented so take your VB, C# (C sharp), C++, j# etc very serious. I like the flexibility of VB and C sharp as they all run on .NET platform. VB is very easy to learn, it is an event driven language. You can build an application in few minutes with VB. What could take you a week to do in C++ could take you few hours to do with VB. There are lots of forms embedded that you could just drag and past. And then you can place scripts like python, Perl, php or JavaScript under the forms so that when you click on the forms the scripts will run.

The .NET platform is a collection of technologies that allow Microsoft applications and programs to work together. With the exception of Windows 95 the .NET framework runs on all Win32 operating systems. The .NET platform is totally standardized in the sense that you can write an XML application in Java and my C# can read the XML generated. Before the .NET era the VB programmers where greatly hindered compared to C++ programmers. The languages involved in the .NET platform are: VB .NET, C#.NET, J#, ASP.NET, and even Cobol.NET, Pascal.NET etc. All these Languages have the same access to the .NET class library i.e. mostly what VB can do C# can also do. ASP.NET is a mixture of C#, HTML and server control syntax for ASP. Visit msdn.microsoft.com/Netframework for more information.



Here are programming tracks using Microsoft platforms, you can Google the codes.

WEB developer
070 536 + 070 528 + 070 547 = Microsoft Certified Professional Developer

Windows Developer
070 532 + 070 526 + 070 548 = Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (Win Apps)

Enterprise Application Developer
070 529 + 070 536 + 070 526 + 070 528 + 070 549 = MCPD




Java was introduced in 1995, and .NET is Microsoft's response to the Java phenomenon. Microsoft has jumped headlong into the mobile code fray with their .NET framework, as .NET architecture has much in common with Java. One major difference is a smaller emphasis on multiplatform support. However, Java introduced the world to mobile code and modern network-centric software design. Java is also another good object oriented programming that is platform independent. Java is an extremely powerful full -featured object oriented language which is platform independent i.e It can be written in Windows and run Unix. Just about any business application can be written in Java which includes: database applications, games applications, web based applications, mobile applications, server-side applications etc, but, I am afraid to say this –Java is very difficult to learn. Java is free and can be downloaded from:

http://java.sun .com
http://www.java.com

The various flavors of Java technology are:

J2SE- Corel Desktop
J2EE- Enterprise/Server
J2ME- Mobil/Wireless
Java Card
Java Web Service


Also, Java language is written tightly to avoid malicious intent, because when you have a java applet executed in an environment there is going to be what we call a sandbox environment created, that is that applet is going to be restricted to the resources within a certain limitation of that environment, unlike some other programming languages that will allow control over a whole device once it is being executed in a particular environment. C and C++ have out-of-date memory management capability and technically speaking, C and C++ are "unsafe" languages because the seething sea of bits can be referenced, manipulated, cast, and moved around by the programmer with impunity. More advanced languages, including Java and C#, are "type safe" and are for this reason much preferred from a security perspective.

Recommended learning paths for Java Certifications

Java Programming Fundamentals and Application Development

Learning Java with Minimal Experience - Sun Certified Java Associate
Java Programming for Professionals - Sun Certified Java Programmer
Java Application Development - Sun Certified Java Developer
Java Mobile Applications Development - Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer
JavaFX Development
Web 2.0 Technology


Enterprise Application Development with Java EE6

Sun Certified JavaServer Faces Developer
Sun Certified Servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP) Developer
Sun Certified Java Persistence API (JPA) Developer
Sun Certified Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) Developer
Sun Certified Web Services Developer


Enterprise Application Development with Java EE 5

Sun Certified Business Component Developer
Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services
Sun Certified Web Component Developer
Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture - Sun Certified Enterprise Architect


Another important aspect of programming is called music programming. When computers became prominent part of our lives, people try to make music with computers using assembly languages, later on programmers started using FORTRAN which is much more portable to create music. These days people use ChucK ( watch the spelling) programming language to create music instead of assembly language. ChucK is a concurrent, strongly timed audio programming language for real-time synthesis, composition, and performance, which runs on Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. It is designed to favor readability and flexibility for the programmer over other considerations such as raw performance. Assembly language is a low-level programming language used mostly in the early 1950s. It can be used to write viruses or device drivers. Do you remember Atari games, Sega and Super Nintendo? Assembly language was used to create their games.



We cannot just pick which is good or best programming language. Every programming language got its own importance and benefits, so it depends upon the requirement and its usability, functionality and robustness. You can stick to one or two for dynamism and you are in business. These days, you can make as high as $500,000 for a custom built software for a financial institution excluding training and cost of maintenance which is usually charged per person-hour.

visit www.easyebooks.org for more info


Aliyu Ahmed Ahmed
www.easyebooks.org

em, @poster

dont be confused yet because i want to give my own definition for the difference.
a programmer is a person who designs and writes and tests computer programs be it web based, desktop or mobile based.
a web developer on the other hand is a person who develops applications designed to be used via the Internet.
a web developer can be a programmer since programming is a common thing amongst all software developers. he might also not be a programmer. this is very dangerous. i have come across many people that can use frontpage, dreamweaver etc to develope their websites without writing a single code. and when their is a problem that just needs a minor tweaking of code problem starts.

but a web developer, whether he can programme or not must know stuff like web servers, http, ftp, html, file types, web forms and all those other stuff that you must know in order to tie a website to a web server and deliver the same website to the end users.

developers are programmers with social skills - essential for advancement

Alberto is right!  , Developers are Programmers! Either Web, Software/Application or Systems, etc. Hope this helps. Although programming is very rewarding. from experience I can  tell you its a crazy Job, lool

a web developer is a programmer who is different from web designer.

There is a difference between a programmer and an administrator. Seun can not write computer program.

Computers have what we call languages,  This are what the computer system understand to perform a function.
We have high level languages. and low level langugues. We also have what is call machines code. You may not have heard of things like 8088 etc. This are code I did in school. Basic was the first low level languages. You have c , c+ etc and you can create you own too. 

What nairaland uses is called PHP. Seun osewa does not know how to write PHP code. Some of this people you claim are computer expert are not. they just download software etc. If seun have gone to school. he would have been able to rewrite the PHP program to please himself.
Written computer code is very easy.
I write computer code. But the funny thing I discovered about them. is that they are like your normal nigeria languages. just like you switch nigeria languages. easy from yorubas to english. Programmers can also switch easy from different langugues.

It is very interesting. You talk of inheritance,function etc in programming.  I can write computer programs in more than 12 languages.

Becomrich9:

There is a difference between a programmer and an administrator. Seun can not write computer program.

Computers have what we call languages,  This are what the computer system understand to perform a function.
We have high level languages. and low level langugues. We also have what is call machines code. You may not have had of things like 8088 etc. This are code I did in school. Basic was the first low level languages. You have c , c+ etc and you can create you own too. 

What nairaland uses is called PHP. Seun osewa does not know how to write PHP code. Some of this people you claim are computer expect are not. they just download software etc. If seun have gone to school. he would have been able to rewrite the PHP program to please himself.
Written computer code is very easy.
I write computer code. But the funny thing I discovered about them. is that they are like your normal nigeria languages. just like you switch nigeria languages. easy from yorubas to english. Programmers can also switch easy from different langugues.

It is very interesting. You talk of inheritance,function etc in programming.  I can write computer programs in more than 12 languages.

becomerich in the house

Becomrich9:

There is a difference between a programmer and an administrator. Seun can not write computer program.

Computers have what we call languages,  This are what the computer system understand to perform a function.
We have high level languages. and low level langugues. We also have what is call machines code. You may not have had of things like 8088 etc. This are code I did in school. Basic was the first low level languages. You have c , c+ etc and you can create you own too. 

What nairaland uses is called PHP. Seun osewa does not know how to write PHP code. Some of this people you claim are computer expect are not. they just download software etc. If seun have gone to school. he would have been able to rewrite the PHP program to please himself.
Written computer code is very easy.
I write computer code. But the funny thing I discovered about them. is that they are like your normal nigeria languages. just like you switch nigeria languages. easy from yorubas to english. Programmers can also switch easy from different langugues.

It is very interesting. You talk of inheritance,function etc in programming.  I can write computer programs in more than 12 languages.

  @becompoor   why can't u for once be serious and make sense, why are you taking it personal with seun if you think seun is not good show us your work so we can asses it  ,

Becomrich9:

There is a difference between a programmer and an administrator. Seun can not write computer program.

Computers have what we call languages,  This are what the computer system understand to perform a function.
We have high level languages. and low level langugues. We also have what is call machines code. You may not have had of things like 8088 etc. This are code I did in school. Basic was the first low level languages. You have c , c+ etc and you can create you own too. 

What nairaland uses is called PHP. Seun osewa does not know how to write PHP code. Some of this people you claim are computer expect are not. they just download software etc. If seun have gone to school. he would have been able to rewrite the PHP program to please himself.
Written computer code is very easy.
I write computer code. But the funny thing I discovered about them. is that they are like your normal nigeria languages. just like you switch nigeria languages. easy from yorubas to english. Programmers can also switch easy from different langugues.

It is very interesting. You talk of inheritance,function etc in programming.  I can write computer programs in more than 12 languages.

Musiwa, How u come know say Seun no be programmer. I think u say he be igbo guy being paid by the government to spy on people.

U no de tire.?

you , what I am trying to tell seun is that there is not substitute to a engineering degree, all this quick fix and certification do not give people the required skill in the workplace. To understand computer. it takes time. some of this certification takes 1 month. Do you compare than to engineering degree that takes 5 years. There is a missing link. And that why seun have not be able to take nairaland to the next level.

Many company look for cheap fix with thier million dollars, but do not want to hire people that understand the real thing. certification with no understand is zero and does not make money for a company. It is just a certificate, you can get in 1 month. certificate does translate to knowledge. what do you know. ? what took seun 5 years can be achieve in 3 month.

a programer is like a subject and a web developer is topic under that subject simple

Becomrich9:

you , what I am trying to tell seun is that there is not substitute to a engineering degree, all this quick fix and certification do not give people the required skill in the workplace. To understand computer. it takes time. some of this certification takes 1 month. Do you compare than to engineering degree that takes 5 years. There is a missing link. And that why seun have not be able to take nairaland to the next level.

Many company look for cheap fix with thier million dollars, but do not want to hire people that understand the real thing. certification with no understand is zero and does not make money for a company. It is just a certificate, you can get in 1 month. certificate does translate to knowledge. what do you know. ? what took seun 5 years can be achieve in 3 month.

Becomrich, i would like to know if you are insinuating that Seun just acquired certificates without knowlegde. Do you have proof? And if you say "what took Seun 5 years can be achieved in 3 months". Are you really talking like someone with knowledge or certificates? What do you know about SEO (search engine optimization) and providing quality content to get hits on your pages. And not just any page but landing pages. Do you have any idea how many backlinks this site (nairaland) has? Do you know how many times this site comes up as the number one ranked site, on google, based on single and not just broad based Keywords.

Trust me, a lot of people have what it takes to do better than Seun but the difference is, He simply did it and they did not.
Maybe you should do something rather than take acheap swipe at someone who has.

Hope you agree that i'm making sense. Cheers mate!

@Onlysose, Pls Hyper Text is not a programming language, let alone High Level Programming language,

I bet you don't even know what qualifies a language to be called a programming language and even don't know what a program is,

Java, PHP, C++ Those are high level programming languages why the earlier version of Cold Fusion was not a High Level Programming language,

Pls read up well! HTML is a Markup Language, just as XML and XHTML. CSS being a language does not make it a programming language,

@Jencejyde I wonder why he took @ Seun,

I believe there is time for everything and you can't know all, I program with PHP, Java, JSP and many other langauges, but my SEO skill is 0 and also my Site Marketing,

I respect Seun for that! Honestly he deserves Kudos!

@becomepoor or what do you call yourself, mr " i can write 12 laguages", i guess cobol and qbasic are part of your languages or maybe its pidgin, i'm sure its not serious languages like perl, python, Dylan, kite, ruby, Neko, Kaya
I tire for frustrated Nigerians like you, the post was a simple question, why not answer the question and log off, if you are a programmer like you claim to be, i think by now you would have developed something better than what seun has presently, maybe something that is close enough to facebook, someone saw a need for a forum he got phpbb template and got it running and good-hearted individuals and arrogant fools like you registered, you now comeback to insult the person's creativity, if seun hadn't used the template, you wouldn't have a platform to show your frustrations, guy stop beefing seun abeg go do your own (_{such an ingrate}), moreover when you criticized seun, i thought you would show us something that would blow our minds,  the screenshot you posted is crap, bad color combination, crappy interface and layout, you even copied google's colors in your layout, i doubt if its search engine optimized, i bet you are one of these morons spoiling the image of web designing as a profession  thereby encouraging people to look for developers outside the country, (_{empty barrel making the loudest noise})

******hisses and changes the topic******

@poster
a web developer is also a programmer, the only one that is different is a web designer( specializes in interface design/ general graphics)
i'm also a programmer, but web development is changing, you don't need to write all the source codes your self, people are working smart, you should spend your time researching on how to work smart, a lot of programmers are now using cms' and frameworks
i met an old friend recently who is a crazy guy when it comes to java/ asp.net/php programming and i asked how its going generally and he said he does less programming but more of development, concentrating more on the designing of interfaces and seo, because we now have cms(content management systems) that does the programming bit. so my advice is this, know enough programming that is necessary, not too much or too less, plus the easiest way is by learning on the job, as it makes things easier ( trust me i'm talking from experience). know enough programming to understand php/.net statements and correct errors, then know enough jquery/ajax but you must finetune your designing skills, because an average user sees the interface not the background programs running on the servers, let people like becomepoor be writing codes with crappy interfaces while others are designing great websites, 
i wish you all the best

Like division of labour a programmer makes the code while the developer uses it to develop website or application

What i am saying is that seun lack some skill, he needs to get. The people at google went to university for this thing. They are not mechanics pretending to be engineers.
I have alot of knowledge in programming than seun, from seen his works. If i spend the same time,seun is usings on the computer. I would have a site on the first 50 top website in the world.
I know enough to be on the top 50 website in the world. I am not saying, i know so. even the company that own the software that seun is using. I once wrote some code, and they wanted me to write it as a plugin for all SMF to use. the one they wrote did not work at that time. But I never had the time to write the code. I once use thier software before. but someone else wrote it for them.

seun is alway online. i dont even use 2 hours expect when i check my phone to use the internet. that why u see the mistake i make. he is online 16 hour a day

Becomrich9:

seun is alway online. i dont even use 2 hours expect when i check my phone to use the internet. that why u see the mistake i make. he is online 16 hour a day

guy wetin seun do u na. why u dey attack the guy

There are quite a few differences between the two however its all to do with the tools they use for their trade and the platform they are comfortable on.

A programmer and web developer ordinarily come from the same disciplines - they understand the basic and also more advanced concepts of programming like the use of OO and the use of threading etc etc.  However in todays world of development tools and FRAMEWORKS are your best friend - for instance a web developer would quite happily use a middle ware framework tool and api set like Spring or Hibernate - for faster and more consistent web developing - obviously an understanding of the APIs that are exposed to the developer and how they fit together is necessary - ie web server, application server (servlets, jsps, ejbs etc etc etc ), database -

A web developer is a programmer though but for argument sake and simplicity a programmer develops the tools that a web programmer uses - web server, application server, database, java complier, OS kernel, AI logic etc etc.   A programmer more often than not will write his programs at a lower and abstract level than a web developer though a web developer (especially if they know java, .net rather than scripting languages) can quite easily migrate to using languages like C or C++

Web and non web developing are worlds apart because of the frameworks and tools used to homogenise his environment for consistent and maintainable code  - and companies in the UK are trying to create environments were standards of coding are used consistently obviously with flexibility in mind

This was written more from a sysadmin (UNIX, Linux, Windows) and infrastructure build and maintainer perspective than a programmer perspective