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antigravity

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Ask HN: If you were starting from scratch again, what language would you learn first? 18 years ago

Python, then LISP and (SML or Ocaml), then C and assembly and compilers, then Python again.

Though I like what Norvig said in http://norvig.com/21-days.html

"Use your friends [...] Keep it simple. [...] Play. [...] Given these criteria, my recommendations for a first programming language would be Python or Scheme. But your circumstances may vary, and there are other good choices. If your age is a single-digit, you might prefer Alice or Squeak (older learners might also enjoy these). The important thing is that you choose and get started."

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Five Years (doing mostly PHP) is Enough 18 years ago

I'd recommend doing a startup and/or side project involving interesting functions of massive datasets.

Technology-wise, at least consider...

- learning SML or OCaml or Erlang

- learning Python

- going deeper into Python. It's a fantastic way to express oneself. It beautifully offers (generators, coroutines, multithreading, subprocesses, and networking) for piping and distributing your computation, a flexible blend of functional and imperative, and its syntax is the most conducive to elegance, simplicity, and rereadability of anything I've tried.

...then building the core algorithms in C/C++ with SWIG wrappers, the tip of the iceberg with Django, and everything else in pure Python.

A must-read: "Generator Tricks For Systems Programmers"

http://www.dabeaz.com/generators/Generators.pdf

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