In the book, The Pragmatic Programmer the authors suggest that you learn a new language every year. With so many new languages these days, what will be your next programming language and why?
Personally I can't keep up with one new language a year, but I've been around a good handful of different languages and that has been of great help to me in both my career and the way I look at programming in general.
Ruby due to the dynamic nature and Rails of course. I'm actually hoping to gain more insight into true object oriented programming by learning Ruby.
I would add to that the fact that I think learning a language a year is a dumb notion (probably going to catch some flack for that one) because learning a new language is really not that interesting. I find the frameworks which support the language are more compelling like the Ruby-case. Ruby is a neat language but the real value lies in the Rails framework.
I'm generally more interested in the results I can achieve with something than the something itself :)
Haskell. Because learning to think "functionally" seems like a very good thing and because it looks mature enough to be a realistic (or close) choice for projects.
C#, because it's the most sensible choice in the current economic situation. Though, if I really had a choice it'd be Lisp. (Currently a C++ programmer)
F# - I am a .NET developer, and i'm interested in the fact that it deals with Multi-threading simply
Python, as I am overdue for learning a scripting langauge after sticking with Java for a long time. I'm also interested in using the Django framework, so that should be a good motivation.
Another language on my list is Haskell, as I think I should take a look at a functional language after sticking with imperative languages for a long time.
One PL a year is a guideline, not a hard rule... :-) And "learning" is vague: is it reading a book and get away with it (if so, I am supposed to know Forth, Lisp, APL, PostScript, etc.)? Or writing some little test code and run it? Or mastering it enough to write a small, usable application?
Anyway, on my radar, there is Python for quite some time (a classical, and might be handy for little scripts or more), and Groovy (because I want to explore at least one JVM language, and I am not fond of Scala syntax. And there are some cool stuff possible with it).
And perhaps, someday, JavaFX.
As always, the main issue is time (even more when you have a family life!).
Learning Python at the moment, Lua soon to follow. I'm gearing up for the game industry ;)
OCaml because it's both functional and quick.
D because it looks like a good alternative to C++.
Lisp
I want to understand the functional approach and I love Emacs.
I've had Perl in my sights for 2+ years now -- I think it is about time.
I'm not going to learn a certain language because of the hype around it or to see what new features it might have.
Once in a while I join interesting open source projects and just learn the language used in that project, so I can participate.
Or to say it another way: I do not choose a tool (like a hammer) from my toolbox and then try to solve any problem with that tool (which may or may not work), but instead I choose my language each time a new problem shall be solved.
I'm a PHP developer at the moment.
I'm planning to learn C# to gain more insight into OO concepts. Plus I'd like to write some desktop apps for a change.
None, even though Pragmatic Programmer was one of the best readings I've got on the subject, I don't agree with whole learn a new language every year debate.
Although not a new language but, what I'm going to learn next is Framework 3.0, 3.5. LINQ and all other shiny "cool" stuff.
I'm a C# developer and intend to stick with C# for a couple more years (and why not?). My next 'language' shall be domain-specific.
The last language I learned was Ruby. Ruby is not completely different from languages like Java, C#, Python, Perl, but has some nice ideas behind it and the OO structure of the language and its core libraries are well designed. Also the Rails framework was a reason to learn Ruby.
However the next language will be C++, simply because I need it to customize software, which is written in C++.
Some highly skilled people don't recommend to always learn the newest technology, instead you should practice fundamentals.
A list of suggestions, found on google China:
Practice the fundamentals. Don’t spend all your efforts on popular languages and tools, and the skills listed in the job advertisements. Instead, master your skills in statistics, computing, databases, operating systems, computer architecture, computer networks and discrete mathematics. Try to solve problems in Donald Knuth’s “Art of Programming”. If you can solve most of the problems, your skills in computing are not bad.
Seek more challenges. Experience in programming can reinforce your knowledge. Try to accumulate the experience of writing 100,000 lines of code when you are in your 4th year.
Practice, practice, practice. Do not underestimate any of the actual work, such as seemingly simple coding or testing. You will gain professional experience pursuing and paying attention to the details of the code.
Don’t forget about mathematics. Math is gymnastics to your brain. Math is everywhere. If you are particularly interested in math-intensive tasks, such as video and image processing, you will need these skills as your tools.
Develop a team spirit and to learn how to work well with others.
Encourage innovation, and don’t necessarily stick to the authors code in the books.
Work strategically. Try to find meaningful and interesting summer job or part-time job if it does not affect you schoolwork. Go find a place that pays attention to programming. Working with a good boss, your code will be used by clients. Don’t rush to become a boss. Your goal must be to learn from other people. When you are working or finding a job, don’t only look at benefits and the job title. Pick an environment that encourages learning, a company that is willing to train employees, and a company that regards you as an important person. Last, but not least, pick a good boss.
http://pthree.org/2007/05/24/good-advice-for-computer-science-students/
I'm a Java developer, developing applications on the cutting edge of Java ME, also I'm, of course, familiar with C++ and I know the basics of PHP 'cos I had to build my own site ant simple XHTML was not very convinient.
If I were to choose next programming language, than except for studying PHP properly I would probably pay some attention to interpreted languages such as Python and Ruby. And certainly Groovy is also worth studying.
I quit my otherwise fine job last month, and took up a new position, mainly to make the switch from PHP to Ruby. So right now I'm learning Ruby. I'm still not sure such a radical move was the wisest choice, but it works; I already feel rather confident after having used the language professionally for less than two weeks.
I currently work as a Java developer, but over the years I have learned:
I've mostly forgotten the assembly languages and the not-in-depth languages now, it was a long time ago. I'm sure with a book and a week I could get back up to speed in them however.
From this I assume that most people will learn a language a year at university, and post university when time is much more precious they may learn one every few years, but they will also learn new APIs within each language (JavaFX, LINQ, etc) as their in-depth knowledge expands. JavaFX for me next year, I've got a good work-related excuse for that one.
What am I missing here? Python and Ruby certainly. PHP I know enough to hack it if need be, but I fail to see why I would use that over Java which is just a nicer language despite its many flaws. I'm missing the Microsoft ecosystem languages. I should revisit functional languages - Haskell seems a good choice.
Currently Delphi programmer, I already programmed in Basic, Assembly (a bit), C++, Java.
The next I think will be C#. I Like so much this language. I prefer C# instead Java, it is more pratical for me.
I'm currently considering Smalltalk, F# and Erlang from the perspective of being very different from what I've done before. I rather suspect the next one will actually be Javascript, given my to-do list for the next year...
Already learned (in approximate chronological order)
(plus bits and pieces of a few others)
I'm doing primarily Java and a little C#. I've already started looking into F# and Scala. Hopefully next year I can really dig into one (or both?) of them.
Well, I suppose the truest answer would be Python 3.0 . Of course, sense I'm coming from Python 2.5 , it probably doesn't count too much.
My next non-Python language, though, is going to be ANSI C. Python integration + speed + computer science education + history should make for a happy journey. :)
C# because despite having avoided .NET and its associated languages forever (I'm more of a UNIX/Mac/Java guy by day) I got an Xbox 360 for my birthday and XNA is exceedingly bright and shiny.
Just one? I'm currently learning Objective-C in order to be able to write OS-X & iPhone apps and Ruby because Rails seems like such a great way to write web apps (I've done ISAPI with C++, PHP & ASP.NET with C#).
Oh in the next year? Ruby, C++, Python, and I guess OpenGL.
Then eventually F# or Haskell.
Demands of the university these days.
Ada. I just ordered a book on it from Amazon.com (along with books on computational physics, astrodynamics, strategic missile guidance, and spacecraft attitude dynamics... I wonder if I'm on any lists now...)
I just taught myself Python; before that, it was F#, and C#.
Actually, come to think of it, I need to fully teach myself C++. I can read it just fine, and write a lot of it perfectly fine. But I still haven't got the hang of templates yet.
Hi,
In my university I took a course on principle of programming language in II semester. It actually talks of different types of programming language. And in my later semesters I took elective subject on each of these language. Not very exhaustive though.
Writing the same basic programs I did in the other language with the new languages was interesting, and I really liked them.
Later I learned c#, vb.net but they were like learning syntax rather than learning something new.
I really liked this approach of learning programming language for each pradigm.
I wanted to learn Lisp, but these days I really slack off.
Thanks.
Hopefully I will improve my JavaScript skills. I think Python 3 could be a smart move and F#. To learn a new language I really need some real projects to work on, so it all depends on what needs arise. For thoose who like to learn C I suggest looking into microcontrollers. Lots of fun and a fine excuse for learning C.
Cobol ! Because most of the Cobol programmers are retired, and you can make a lot of money in the banking industry with Cobol, as someone has to care for the software which actually does all the work of keeping our accounts...
(No, this was only a joke - but one with some truth in it.)
Well, my favorite language right now is D, and in the alpha branch the pace of innovation is fast enough that just keeping up with it is almost like learning a new language every 6 months to a year.
The reality is that you want to stay ahead and learn the languages that are in most demand. Microsoft announced that F# will be incorporated as a choice in VS 2010. They already have books on F#. Gotta keep up. :) I also just read an article about SAP, and I quote "You know SAP and you pretty much have zero unemployment".
Just my two cents. :)
My job requires me to program in Java mostly, and I've used C/C++ and C#. So I guess my next language would be something like Ruby or Python. Something not too similar to the languages I'm already familiar with, so I can learn something new.
I think someone mentioned it in a previous answer, but I like the idea of learning one framework a year almost as much as learning one language a year.
Right now I'm very interested in programming languages designed for concurrent/multi-threaded systems. F# and Erlang are on my shortlist.
On Intel's latest desktop CPUs, a single-threaded application shows 12.5% CPU usage. I don't want to explain my customers why they have to wait on an app that uses only 12.5% of their PC's power. Managing a few threads is doable in imperative languages such as Delphi, but for real concurrent programming, better tools are needed.
See what code looks like in various languages, side by side at rosettacode.
Decide for yourself, which one you could see yourself programming in.
Also a good way to learn to read code.
By the way, I would learn autohotkey if you're on windows.
It allows you to actually automate the computer from the ground up (keyboard, mouse, user interface). A great help file, you will be making useful programs in minutes.
Haskell. It's static type system with inferred types is really cool. It gives all of the compile-time type safety and refactorability of a language like Java with most of the simplicity of a dynamically typed language like Python.
I'm staying with C# at the moment but I really should take a deeper look at PHP somewhere in the future!
The whole idea of a new language a year is probably one of the least useful suggestions I've ever heard. It reinforces the idea that your job is to write code. It's not.
We all get into this field because we like to write code. And that continues to be most people's emphasis. But as you grow in your job you'll find that there are much more useful skills that you can learn. First would be how to write a good e-mail. The quality of writing in something as short as an e-mail is abysmal in this industry. And don't get me started on longer documents.
How about how to participate in a meeting? We all complain about how useles meetings are but is that a problem with meetings or a problem with us? How many times have you highjacked a meeting to argue a minor point with somebody just to prove how smart you are? (I know I have, but I'm getting better).
In short, there is a shortage of "soft" skills in our industry most of which are more important thn "hard" skills. If you truly want to be an effective programmer learn those things that will allow you to work better with others: teamwork skills and communications skills. Noit only will you be better at your job, you will enjoy your work more.
Erlang. It seems like a really slick language for doing things on a server, and I'm doing more and more of that.
Objective-J! I've never been this excited for a web-based scripting language before.
Ruby, I'm bad at web development and I'd like to become better. I'm a .NET developer, I'd be better to learn ASP.NET MVC, but learning a new language can be fun.
Languages that I have learned and used over the years in chronological order:
Next is C#.
Rebol because it is the most amazing language, very practical that others are now copying.
Scala because it mostly ressembles Rebol for me.
F# because I love .NET.
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Started already. :-)
Watch this to know why?
I currently know:
Java
C#
C
C++
VB6
VB.Net
I recon its essential that every developer knows at least 3 languages that is different in the following manners:
Syntax Sequential vs OO Runtime (VM non VM) Keywords
I have started exploring with Cocoa recently because:
A key part of the Cocoa architecture is its comprehensive views model which I want to learn more about.
Programmer is freed from implementing basic infrastructure to concentrate only on the unique aspects of an application's content.
Very powerful base objects.
Apples success.
I believe looking at "older" programming languages we can learn more about current ones.
Forth. It is time, all these years after Jupiter Ace. I want to experience the power of being able to build my own language (DSL like).
I do not know yet. Why?
Probably polishing my skills in common-lisp and javascript. I've been putting off learning ajax for too long and it's bitten me in the butt.
After that, maybe C# for XNA
When I have the time I'd like to look into Google's new Go language.
It all comes down to what you want to do with the language. There are beatiful languages that are almost useless in many situations because of the lack of libraries or frameworks. For example, Lua is a great little language, and very efficient, but it's grown to be a scripting language for games. Its ecosystem grew around this industry and there are no many tools to work on other domains.
I'll learn Go or Boo ... Or maybe Prolog ...
Already learned:
Assembly (x86 and ARM). Since it's practical for my work and it's the best way for me to really understand how things are working down there.
I'm primarily a .NET developer (C# and sometimes VB) and I'm currently learning Java (for Android development), Python (for scripting prototypes and Django) and F# (to learn functional programming concepts and because it integrates so well with the rest of the .NET framework)
D 2.0, because I need a replacement for C++. The language just isn't ready for 2010, despite C++0x/C++1x. D on the other hand seems to be getting ready.
Most probably CAML. Collaborative Application Markup Language, not Categorical Abstract Machine Language. Also Script#.
The reason is purely practical: I may need one of both languages for the project I'll be engaged with in very near future. The last language I learned for fun was F#.
My next programming language will be one that I create myself :)
Why? Implementing a (new or existing) language is great fun and even if you just reimplement an existing language you know, it requires thinking about issues you probably haven't quite considered in full before, e.g. because it's been built into the language/compiler/run-time system.
(Add to that all the tricky design decisions that go into making an entirely new language...)
Depending on where you start, you may have to learn about lexing/parsing, garbage collection, type systems, assembly language, linkers/loaders, a bunch of new data structures, etc. All good things to learn!
The only downside is that you'd generally not get much opportunity to explore new paradigms this way. Since implementing a language is harder than using it, you usually have to limit yourself to the paradigm(s) you already know well...
Javascript
-- MV
Selenese, is barely a langauge, but is most certainly the one I will learn next. Yeah, I could probably do it in python, but I'm in a hurry!
Learning Ruby, or rather Ruby on Rails, as of now. I have yet to learn some of the more advanced concepts in C++, I intend to revisit Thinking in C++ for the last two or three chapters and then take on Volume 2 as far as I have the motivation to go. After that I'm pursuing my interest in Haskell. :-)
The D programming language, because its design goals are a close match with mine.
I like the deployment consistency and performance of Java, but Java as a language is showing its age.
Compare Java which hasn't officially changed much since its inception, to C# which Microsoft is constantly iterating and improving, adding new and useful features like Linq.
Projects like Groovy target the JVM but allow more agile, functional semantics, allowing you to do more with less code, and avoid the reams of boilerplate syntax you may be used to seeing.
After
I'm currently learning Google Go and write a book about it (will be finished this month). It combines the well known style of C-languages with Python convenience and Erlang concurrency, a nice and very productive combination. Additionally compiling is extreme fast (e.g. 5 MB with 186.000 lines of code in 707 Go files of the standard library on my MacBook in about 19 seconds compiled, linked, and deployed).
Last reasons are the company behind it, Google, large enough to keep and push it, and the inventors, among others Ken Thompson and Rob Pike. Both are well known for their work on Unix, Plan 9, and UTF-8.
Haskell.
Most of my programming is in Java. I've been using Scala for more than a year now and I'd like to know more about functional programming. Haskell is great for that, because it's a pure, strongly and statically typed functional programming language.
I like static typing, that's why Haskell is more interesting to me than Lisp-like languages which are dynamically typed.
My pick is http://golang.org/ . I choose this language, because I very much appreciate the effort of creating a beautiful language. From a technical standpoint Go is very ordinary. But the main point is to be able to express yourself clearly, to boost readability, to make coding fun (again), and not to introduce features for the sake of features.
I'm proficient in c, c++ and a couple of other languages, but I really darn hate it, that to use any of these languages effectively you need a catalog of rules what not to do (RTTI, template magic, macros, ...) . All these languages have features that add complexity for a bit more of w/e people think they need. Simplicity is far more valuable, than the c++ template mechanism, or the newborn from hell called "move semantics" in c++1x. seriously. For me (and 95% of c++ devs) it's just a new bullet point on the list of the things to avoid, because they screw with ordinary people's (such as me, my colleges, and most of you) mind.
Therefor I am on the search for a language, which I can read, where you can not fuck things up easily, and has some few orthogonal concepts which combine into a powerful, expressive tool.
ps: it's statically typed, compiled, garbage collected, there is no notion of heap and stack (because there is no need for it), it has built-in concurrency through two easy to use mechanisms. I probably forgot something so make sure to check it out yourself!
Javascript is set to be big. With JIT compilation (V8 etc) and server side hosts (Rhino, nodejs) theres no excuse really.
Clojure is a very interesting Lisp-like language build on top of the JVM with some great concepts for concurrent programming. I definitly want to learn it next.
I also think that you should gain for a mix of "old" and "new" programming languages. Smalltalk for example is definitly worth looking at, since it introduced important features like a virtual machine. Lisp, of course, is a classic.
I also would recomment to learn what I call "glue languages" like make's syntax for Makefiles. This is not a "real" programming language, of course, but it's good to be able to read Makefiles. Often it is considered a "black art" and overlooked since the presence of tools that are build on top of make like CMake or autoconf. awk is another example. Useful and often overlooked when considering a new programming language.
Currently I'm learning Haskell.
And soon I'm going to have a look at F#/OCaml. But just a look.
I need to look precisely to Nomadic Pict or Fun Loft, they both implement the Pi-Calculus, and I think I really should get on this so as to have a better/closer vision and understanding of multithreading, and distributed computing..
Maybe then only, I will have a look at Javascript.
I've been practicing C++ for 12 years. Have done some work in C. Have already learnt but also forgotten much of Java, Python, and OzML, because not used everyday for a long time.
As much as I would like to learn new languages, I'm having a hard time as it is keeping up with all the .NET stuff that Microsoft keeps spewing out each year. The framework is growing faster than at least I can wrap my head around. I realize that everybody probably doesn't need to know everything about the .NET framework, but even learning enough about a part to know that you DON'T need it (yet) takes time.
I worked with PHP for a short time a while back, and even though the code I produced was crap, it felt really refreshing to break free from C# for a while. I felt really creative and productive, instead of spending time locating the .NET library that does the thing that I want to do.