[kls]

I have abandoned server side frameworks all together, with the exception of a REST toolkit now days if you are building a web application the client side toolkits coupled with a REST service layer offer a much more robust development platform as well as provides a more usable and better performing end product.

[sixtofour]

But would you recommend that approach for a beginner, or is it better to start with a framework so you don't have to think of everything, and evolve your understanding?

How did you decide on your approach?

[kls]

Yes I would because it is where the web is heading. I would adopt Dojo + jQuery or backbone + jQuery and a REST layer. I personally use JAX-RS because I do a lot of enterprise apps and Java is entrenched there, but there are REST libs for most major platforms now.