I believe that's the grand strategy for C# developers. If they can write code that can easily be ported from the web to (for example) a mobile platform, it is a very good business strategy.ASP.Net tries to do both the server and client side (sometimes the programmer doesn't even know if his C# code is actually going to be run on the server or the client). Perl (and on this list mod_perl) takes care of the server side but leaves the client side up to you.
I'm actually quite glad that we have two options (or more, in favour of the Perl TIMTOWTDI mantra) of implementation a web-based application. The ASP.NET way makes putting together an application quick and easy, abstracting the details of client-server communication as much as possible. This is aligned to the real-world scenario where too many businesses expect 'instant applications' to respond to their new-fangled ventures.I think the OSS community is actually ahead of .Net in this regard since you aren't tied to a particular back-end system. Choice does mean you need more knowledge though. Start looking around and evaluate and pick one that suits your needs.
The we-do-purely-backend-stuff alternative that is modperl concentrates on making the web app agile yet robust. To put it objectively, it is the tradditional approach to writing web applications. It works, it's proven, and there is good community and professional support for this kind of framework.
Looking forward, I personally believe in the pervasiveness of the dynamic and asynchronous interactivity between the client and the browser. Module(s) that enable such features will be a milestone in making modperl (and Perl itself) relavant in the ever changing web landscape.
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