Compile To Web

One of the problems I have always had with web development is the looseness of the different technologies used to deliver a good result to your end user. For any body that has developed software using compiled languages like C/C++, Java and C# combining things like HTML, PHP and Javascript in the same source files feels so dirty and inelegant. Though there are various methods of seperating the different layers of web applications, I personally feel they are still not as efficient as what you get in non-web programming.
Luckily, my sentiment seem to be shared by the majority in the software development world and as expected better methods of developing web applications are emerging. Most of these solutions allow you to develop using compiled languages but your source code is translated into web languages like HTML and Javascript instead of the expected binary code that is generated by those languages. Here are three of such technologies I find most interesting.

Google Web Toolkit : This is developed by Google and basically let you develop your program using Java but generates Javascript application as the output. Just like most Google tools, Google Web Toolkit is free of charge.

VisualWebGui : This is an open-source tool but also seems to have a commercial version. It integrates with Microsoft Visual Studio and let's you convert a .NET programs to a web application.

JSIL : This is an open-source tool in development. It takes code in native .NET executable format (CIL) and converts it Javascript ready to run in a browser.

There may be others that I am yet to discover but this trend is good news for people like me that want to get desktop development experience in web development.