what is an alternate way to refer to HTML/JavaScript/CSS?
I'm going to have to say DHTML anyway. Why would you say it's "defunct"? It is the perfect answer to this question. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DHTML. DHTML means Dynamic HTML—which is exactly what the combination of HTML/JavaScript/CSS code is.
Unless you're dealing with someone who isn't impressed with terms that are less than a year or two old, or unless you aren't specifically talking about code, DHTML conveys exactly what you are talking about.
Given that the person you're trying to convey this message to knows you're talking about web-related stuff - Front-end or Front-end development has always worked for me.
"HTML5" is the answer I now believe to be correct to replace "HTML/JavaScript/CSS". Since I asked the question in January, HTML5 has gained a lot more recognition for its incredible capabilities and promise. "HTML5" also has significantly greater name recognition than 7 months ago, and clearly sets it apart from lesser HTML.
Web application is perhaps too loose of a term, but it's a start.
Let's break it down.
- HTML is data, CSS is presentation, and JavaScript is code. These are web technologies.
- These are usually brought together by a browser.
- Something in a browser on the web is a website.
- JavaScript suggests it is somewhat interactive, so it's not just a site, it's an application.
("Application" also suggests that it's more complex, like with a SQL backend or something, so you might sound even more talented. :)
I'm guessing that you had the term LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) in mind? To my knowledge there is no such abbreviation for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The easiest way to say it is to just say it.
Versus "Front end" – I think that term implies that you built something that customers used. "Web application" is nonspecific about who the users are, so it would apply to customer-facing applications as well as internal-use applications. The word "application" implies that it's not just a tool; there are users who are not the programmers. "Front end" is probably more impressive because a customer-facing application has to be nicer than an internal one.
If you are not using it in a browser, or it's not actually on the web, maybe just your intranet or an internally distributed application bundle, it's still an application developed with web technologies.