Are there any scientific studies (and conclusions) about the impact of mastering a new programming language over previously learned programming languages? I'm particularly interested if mastering various languages can decrease average productivity.
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A:
I'm particularly interested if mastering various languages can decrease average productivity.
I strongly doubt this. Since I learned functional programming, I've improved the way I'm writing my Java (non-functional) code as well. Learning new languages poses a great programming exercise that hardly decrease your productivity.
aioobe
2010-10-21 11:49:04
downvoter, care to explain?
aioobe
2010-10-21 11:51:20
I clarified the question. I'm sure we can all do stuff in many languages, and being able to learn from each one is highly beneficial. However, I highly doubt most programmers master more than 2 or 3 languages.
hgpc
2010-10-21 11:56:31
Depends on who you call a programmer, but I'd say the opposite, most programmers *do* know more than 2 or 3 languages.
aioobe
2010-10-21 11:57:33
I think hgpc is saying that while most programmers probably *know* many languages, very few programmers will truly master more than 1 or 2 languages
Martin
2010-10-21 12:06:42
@Martin Exactly.
hgpc
2010-10-21 12:10:33
Ah, ok, sounds closer to the truth. Still though, I sincerely doubt that mastering multiple languages is a drawback when it comes to productivity.
aioobe
2010-10-21 12:11:15
@aioobe, can you tell us which functional language you've picked up?
duffymo
2010-10-21 12:14:37
@duffymo, Scala, and some OCaml (through the use of [coq](http://coq.inria.fr/)) Specifically, my way of thinking about immutable objects have changed.
aioobe
2010-10-21 12:18:01
Nice, thank you. I'm dipping my toes in the Scala pool now, too.
duffymo
2010-10-21 12:30:25
If you don't mind my asking, how long did it take you to achieve your current level of mastery? Is your experience limited to exercises, or have you written a complete application?
duffymo
2010-10-21 12:31:04
+1 from me for your diligence.
duffymo
2010-10-21 12:31:38
@duffymo, I've done mostly small programs. Like solved (and constructed) some lab assignments in some cs-courses. I'll be doing my first real application (a aspect-like compiler for a subset of Java) in the beginning of next year).
aioobe
2010-10-21 12:34:17