Which Programming Language

HavocXphere said:
3 vote for python in a row. Can't argue against that...I'm (vaguely) for it myself.

<<<Personal opinion>>>>

I feel someone needs to address this though before recommending it:
https://medium.com/@deliciousrobots/5d2ad703365d/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7799524

That to me a serious concern and one of the reason I'm investing zero time in python...wicked language...but without some sense of direction going forward I don't feel confident.
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This was a troubling post (the linked medium post).

Everyone that has wanted to leave Python because of this has already moved on to Go.

As far as the 2 vs. 3 issue goes, the consensus for those who won't give up on Python is to use whichever one works best for you.

Support will end soon for 2, but there will some sort of backlash and support will continue (IMO).

Going to 3 is not really a major issue for me anymore, because of the way they explained how adding more to 2 without cleaning it up will take it down the PHP road.

Granted, I also find the lack of features in 3 to not warrant a move, but maybe things will get interesting towards 3.5+.

The OP should learn Py3 is he/she wants to learn it, as most of the big packages are there already.
 
noob_saibot said:
...
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Thank you. Python 2 is solid. Python 3 is solid. The transition is (as far as I can tell) a complete clusterfk though.

The leaders of the community declared "we're jumping to Python 3" and proceeded to jump. Nobody else (community) jumped with them though. Now the community doesn't want to follow (various reasons) and the leaders can't credibly backtrack (looks fatally weak). Neither party can / wants to move.

Thats why I'm saying...Python looks (legitimately) solid in many respects (esp technical)...but as far as I can tell its screwed going forward....
 
Getting back to the OP's question about learning, in my experience picking a language or picking a language to learn how to program won't help you become a "professional" programmer. Learning a language (bar lisp) is easy once you understand how programming works. I'd rather invest time in learning when and why to use a language and its tools, than how. E.g. when to use a linked list, when to use a concurrent list, when to use a binary tree and why (as examples).

Figuring out what your tools do (and then when to use them), as opposed to how to use them is far more important in my opinion.

-G-
 
The language from which the gods wrought the universe: LISP.
 
HavocXphere said:
Thank you. Python 2 is solid. Python 3 is solid. The transition is (as far as I can tell) a complete clusterfk though.

The leaders of the community declared "we're jumping to Python 3" and proceeded to jump. Nobody else (community) jumped with them though. Now the community doesn't want to follow (various reasons) and the leaders can't credibly backtrack (looks fatally weak). Neither party can / wants to move.

Thats why I'm saying...Python looks (legitimately) solid in many respects (esp technical)...but as far as I can tell its screwed going forward....
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I'll have to disagree with you there.

A significant number of programmers have ported their code over to Python 3 (most of the bigger, community-driven projects, like Django, etc.).

It's a tough thing to just drop the language because of them cleaning up the code-base. Python can literally be used anywhere and it is the only dynamic language with such a vast array of use-cases, which is why it is definitely not screwed (unless things like performance matter to you, which in that case you'd likely use Python for small scripting on top of your Java/Scala/Haskell/Go languages).

OP: Learn Java (better yet, get certified for Java or better than that, get a CS degree).
 
Here we go again.

Not sure if Javascript has been mentioned but if it was - ignore the person who said it.

I see Python has been mentioned - it always is.

C# and Java :sick: is always good.

Go/Golang is not bad either (if you are just playing around atm). In a couple of years there will probably be a real need for Go devs.
 
Hamster said:
Here we go again.

Not sure if Javascript has been mentioned but if it was - ignore the person who said it.

I see Python has been mentioned - it always is.

C# and Java :sick: is always good.

Go/Golang is not bad either (if you are just playing around atm). In a couple of years there will probably be a real need for Go devs.
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Why the hate for JavaScript? It's a wonderfully versatile language and easy to pick up.
 
FarligOpptreden said:
Why the hate for JavaScript? It's a wonderfully versatile language and easy to pick up.
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Versatile, maybe. The language itself is an eyesore, no type safety, losely typed and don't forget "CALLBACK all the code!"

Just not a language I would ever recommend as a start.
 
Gallderhen said:
Getting back to the OP's question about learning, in my experience picking a language or picking a language to learn how to program won't help you become a "professional" programmer. Learning a language (bar lisp) is easy once you understand how programming works. I'd rather invest time in learning when and why to use a language and its tools, than how. E.g. when to use a linked list, when to use a concurrent list, when to use a binary tree and why (as examples).

Figuring out what your tools do (and then when to use them), as opposed to how to use them is far more important in my opinion.

-G-
Click to expand...
On the contrary. You can only learn to be a good programmer (professional is overrated and a meaningless term) once you know how to program. The programming language matters very much as you want to focus on concepts and good practices and not syntax. Pascal/Delphi has been the learning choice for decades because it provides an easy to learn syntax. Most of the basic concept is written in human language so there's not much extra to learn before you can start programming.

FarligOpptreden said:
Why the hate for JavaScript? It's a wonderfully versatile language and easy to pick up.
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We have been through this. There's no hate for javascript but it's not a language for general purpose programming. Recommending it is like recommending charcoal for a draftsman.
 
Swa said:
We have been through this. There's no hate for javascript but it's not a language for general purpose programming. Recommending it is like recommending charcoal for a draftsman.
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Must be why draftsman use jquery.
 
Hamster said:
Versatile, maybe. The language itself is an eyesore, no type safety, losely typed and don't forget "CALLBACK all the code!"

Just not a language I would ever recommend as a start.
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You're just not structuring your code properly. You can easily slip in to call back hell if you write sloppy code.
 
semaphore said:
You're just not structuring your code properly. You can easily slip in to call back hell if you write sloppy code.
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Yes yes, that is why I do not recommend it to a junior/beginner. It's much easier to slip up with js.
 
Swa said:
On the contrary. You can only learn to be a good programmer (professional is overrated and a meaningless term) once you know how to program. The programming language matters very much as you want to focus on concepts and good practices and not syntax. Pascal/Delphi has been the learning choice for decades because it provides an easy to learn syntax. Most of the basic concept is written in human language so there's not much extra to learn before you can start programming.


We have been through this. There's no hate for javascript but it's not a language for general purpose programming. Recommending it is like recommending charcoal for a draftsman.
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You can write gui apps, server apps, games with it. Go take a look what adobe has done with their open source editor. Gone are the days when it was restricted to HTML.
 
Always a interesting question. My eldest recently asked me 'Daddy, what do you do at work?'
Almost told her I drink coffee and use Reddit. But instead dug up good old Logo. Still a good way to learn the fundamentals of programming logic. And it has a turtle.
A structured language like Basic or Cobol (Just examples) will teach you the important fundamental concepts. Plus be a good test if you are really interested in this.
The thing is not to learn a language. Its to learn to think.
Languages come and go - I've actually lost count of how many I've used in my career. Don't even bother listing them all in my CV. The trick is to easily grasp the concept and hit the ground running.
Google 'Learn to code', pick one that looks interesting. And have fun.
 
Compton_effect said:
Always a interesting question. My eldest recently asked me 'Daddy, what do you do at work?'
Almost told her I drink coffee and use Reddit. But instead dug up good old Logo. Still a good way to learn the fundamentals of programming logic. And it has a turtle.
A structured language like Basic or Cobol (Just examples) will teach you the important fundamental concepts. Plus be a good test if you are really interested in this.
The thing is not to learn a language. Its to learn to think.
Languages come and go - I've actually lost count of how many I've used in my career. Don't even bother listing them all in my CV. The trick is to easily grasp the concept and hit the ground running.
Google 'Learn to code', pick one that looks interesting. And have fun.
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Almost like saying that you should pick any bike that you like to learn to drive on - that 1000c Ducatti Speaks to me!

When you learn to program you want something more forgiving with training wheels so you spend more time learning to drive and less time in hospital trying to figure out what the hell went wrong.

In the end it doesn't matter but surely at the start it does?
 
Hamster said:
Yes yes, that is why I do not recommend it to a junior/beginner. It's much easier to slip up with js.
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Bullsht. If someone learns properly from the start they wont have that issue. Anyone can start sloppy in any language.
 
semaphore said:
Bullsht. If someone learns properly from the start they wont have that issue. Anyone can start sloppy in any language.
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I want this on record for future reference: are you saying that JavaScript is a great maybe even better language to start out with as opposed to C# and Java?
 
Hamster said:
I want this on record for future reference: are you saying that JavaScript is a great maybe even better language to start out with as opposed to C# and Java?
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You can put whatever you want on record. You've been very brainwashed into the whole static analysis and type safety arena (funny thou considering you love python so much). You need to go do some assembler and clear your head.

http://strongloop.com/strongblog/node-js-callback-hell-promises-generators/

Go use futures and promises.
 
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