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Old 4th January 2009
ocicat ocicat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisd View Post
But, if I was just learning how to become a programmer what would be better to concentrate on Java, Python Ruby or C ? I am asking say job wise.
This depends upon what you want to do professionally, & what kind of jobs you are likely to find in your area if you do not want to move elsewhere.

Having said that & not knowing anything more than what has been posted, I would say there are five languages to have a passing knowledge of at this time:
  • Perl and/or Python for scripting needs ranging from simple to more complex. When wanting to create database applications, one of the first tools reached for should be Perl or possibly Python. Given that you already stated some exposure to Perl, learn the language & learn it well. Perl is quite flexible & sophisticated. It is used in a number of applications be it database, Web, or sysadmin work. Read, study, & understand the various Perl titles published by O'Reilly.
  • Be it that you already mentioned some Java exposure, learn this language well too. You have given no information as to what work is available in your area, but quite likely, Java work can be found.
  • Knowledge of C is important if you want to become a sysadmin or want to do lower level systems work, but systems-level work may or may not be available in your area.
  • Anyone who wants to understand Unix or customize it to their own liking needs to learn shell scripting -- simply for the reason that a Bourne-compatible shell is most likely to be available on any Unix system encountered.
  • Lastly, while not necessarily classified a general purpose language as the above choices, learning SQL & how to administer & use databases such as MySQL & Postgres will pay off in time.
The deeper you understand these languages & their uses, the more employable you will become. The key word here is "deep". Having knowledge of multiple languages also helps because this means you will not be as myopic as those that only understand one way of solving a problem.

If you can provide more information, you may get more (relevant) responses.

Last edited by ocicat; 4th January 2009 at 03:58 AM.
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