Learn a new PL?

nekros · Post by **nekros** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:54 am

Ok, so I think it is time to learn a new programming language. I know C, some C++, and x86 asm. Any suggestions? (I HATE Java)

jzgriffin · Post by **jzgriffin** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:08 pm

Try a scripted language. Python is a nice route for that - can be used for both webdev and shell scripts.

nekros · Post by **nekros** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:19 pm

Scripting does not run along my interests to much at the moment. I'm looking for something you can REALLY program in.

Combuster · Post by **Combuster** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:25 pm

A scripting language is IMHO worth the same credits as any other "non-scripting" programming language.

If you mean that you want a language that can be compiled to an standalone executable, Google found native python compilers.

You may want to try Haskell for being something completely different.

Paw · Post by **Paw** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:43 pm

I have to agree, dismissing scripting languages for being "non-real" languages isn't the right approach and doesn't make sense anyway. You're deliberately cutting yourself away from gaining more knowledge.
Scripting languages have their justification for various purposes. A couple of things can be done with them which cannot be done as easily in compiled ones (without proper runtime support).

You may want to try out functional, declarative or logical programming languages. Trying them out gives a completely different perspective on programming and solving problems in general.

You also don't need to stick to them. But you can learn approaches which can enrich your understanding for algorithms and programming habits in your main programming languages. As a bonus you gain control over a richer set of tools and can decide for the most appropriate tool among the scripted or compiled programming languages you know.

Maybe http://99-bottles-of-beer.net/ helps you in your decision process for a new programming language to learn

nekros · Post by **nekros** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:50 pm

I don't think it is not a "REAL" language. I just am not at the moment into scripting languages.

jzgriffin · Post by **jzgriffin** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:55 pm

Fortran or Cobol? Maybe even C#.

Alboin · Post by **Alboin** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:37 pm

Functionally, if you want a *really*, pound-you-in-the-functional, stricter-than-a-nun, functional language, then you can't beat Haskell. Erlang is a bit more relaxed, and Lisp is even more relaxed.

On the mixed end of things, Scala is pretty funky, and Forth is cool if you're into writing postscript files in vi. I've also been following Cat, which is really quite interesting in both design and syntax. I suggest you at least check it out, although I'm not sure you should actually seriously program in it.

nekros · Post by **nekros** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:44 pm

I find I have trouble with languages that look to much like english. That is why I like C. My mind can flip through code faster than a chipmunk on steroids

Paw · Post by **Paw** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:19 pm

nekros wrote:I find I have trouble with languages that look to much like english. That is why I like C. My mind can flip through code faster than a chipmunk on steroids

Oh... how about Brainfuck or Var'aq?

nekros · Post by **nekros** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:50 pm

Holy Crap!

Colonel Kernel · Post by **Colonel Kernel** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:20 pm

nekros wrote:I find I have trouble with languages that look to much like english.

Too bad... otherwise, I'd recommend learning Smalltalk. Somebody already mentioned Scala, which I also recommend. Objective-C is quite interesting.

01000101 · Post by **01000101** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:54 am

Dont throw anything at me... but VB?

or C#?

binutils · Post by **binutils** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:29 am

http://www.py2exe.org/index.cgi/Tutorial

Helu · Post by **Helu** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:43 am

You can try Ruby on rails.It is hot and it is really cool!

OSDev.org

Learn a new PL?

Learn a new PL?

try ruby on rails