If you were to pick one language to learn...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2692952

by SuperString • 15 years ago

1 12 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Say you were an aspiring programmer considering starting his own little start-up in next 3-4 years time; and say you could pick one new programming language to learn in that time frame. What would be the most useful language, according to you, and why?

DanielStraight• 15 years ago

I stand by my previous categorization of languages:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2459042

And based on it, C# if you're a Windows person, otherwise Python or Ruby. Between Python and Ruby, there's almost no difference that matters to an aspiring programmer.

SuperString5• 15 years ago

Thanks for the link. I've been looking to expand my programming experience since I've found myself going back into programming after having been out of it for the last 7 or so years. I used to work in Pascal/Delphi and had some exposure to C++ but since nowadays I mostly just code SQL, I feel I need to make my knowledge more current.

jaredonline5• 15 years ago

Obviously it depends a little on what your startup will be doing. If you'll be doing web based software, then Ruby or Python are the best choices. If you'll be doing iPhone/iOS software, then you'll need to learn Objective-C. Other platforms have their own requirements.

I would figure out which language is best suited toward your startup, and learn that, instead of trying to figure out what language is best, then trying to make your startup fit that language.

SuperString5• 15 years ago

Hi,

We're in agreement on the issue - I'm currently weighing some ideas for a web-based app so that's where I'm looking to expand my proficiency.

jaredonline5• 15 years ago

I see. I have a bias towards Ruby and Rails because that's what I do. I've never used Python or Django, but I've heard that they're comparable.

That being said, I would recommend you learn Ruby 1.9.2 and Rails 3.1. The community is great, the framework is amazing, and there are a lot of resources freely available, like Railscasts, to help you along your way.

I would stay away from PHP and Java.

seymores• 15 years ago

Clojure.org

If you were to pick one language to learn...

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