

Should I learn Python, Perl or Ruby? - netbyte

People say don't use Ruby because of the small community outside of the web and others say don't use Perl because it's "old."  I don't really like the syntax or Python that much(I know I know).  Which would be the best choice for simple scripts, and to eventually move on to bigger projects.
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gamechangr
Ruby on Rails---------(then Python,-------- then Perl)

Ruby is easier to pick up with a much more active community. It really depends
what you want to build:

Python- If you need to build a site quickly that is mostly information based
such as a blog or some kind of editorial site. I'd choose python with django.
The automatic admin section is great for this type of task.

Ruby- If you need to build something with a lot of popular features (twitter,
mash ups, simple shopping carts, etc..) and don't have time to really learn
every little detail. Ruby using Rails might be a good solution as there are
thousands of demo and live applications out there to borrow from. Should
reduce your development time.

I throw out an line of demarkation....For example comparing the ways that
Python and Ruby address Meta-programming, I think, will illuminate which for
you is more interesting (which fits your brain better)

I use Ruby on Rails the most.

In the end...learn them all.

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manuscreationis
If you have a negative outlook on all 3, why not find a language that you do
like, and start from there?

I think one of the easiest things to learn (the basics, not the fine
intricacies) right now, thanks to the explosion of web technologies, is
Javascript. You already have an environment to run it in (any browser), and if
you actually like it, you can advance to something like Node (ignore the
hyperbole around both it's magical properties and it's carcinogens) to write
"bigger" projects in.

But overall, take pilot_pirxs' advice. He is spot on.

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pfraze
Good point. Node is as much for CLI as it is for web servers; plenty of
libraries to make that and web scraping easy, and you get to have the browser
as an environment. Lots of mileage there.

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netbyte
What are some resources to get me started with Node?

P.S I have no knowledge of Javascript

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chuhnk
They are all great for simple scripting with the ability to move into larger
scale projects. I've been highly productive in all three with ruby probably
being my favourite as I liked the syntax and flow of it a lot more than the
other two. From my experience perl readability was always the most difficult,
coming back to something I wrote a couple weeks later I felt like it was
complete gibberish whereas ruby was much easier. The ruby community is huge,
the libraries are endless and there is no lack of documentation out there. In
my opinion ruby is where you should start.

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p4lto
I just started studying a year or so ago, I looked around and saw more
suggestions to start with Python than others. I don't remember seeing much
about Ruby but I'm reading up on it as I get deeper into Python, they're
relatively similar but I haven't had enough time with Ruby to understand it's
philosophy.

Python is fun! I expect Ruby to be just as much, if not more so, I'm looking
forward to it. Ultimately, I advise that you play around with different
languages until you find one that you enjoy, that's a pretty significant
factor to learning imo.

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pilot_pirx
for simple scripts: doesn't matter

for larger projects: depends on project

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netbyte
Website scraping, simple websites, execute tasks quickly from the Desktop

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martharotter
Sites like Scraperwiki work great with Python, PHP and Ruby. Take a look at
their examples and see which ones make the most sense to you.

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netbyte
Thanks

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joshontheweb
I prefer python or javascript, but really, just pick one. Chances are you will
have occasion to learn them all to some extent. I would shy away from perl
personally. Although it has a huge install base and CPAN is expansive. It
doesn't seem as popular these days and you'll likely have a hard time finding
as many up-to-date examples for current use cases.

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minhajuddin
Ruby has a huge community, and is very flexible. Python is not as flexible as
ruby (this is true when you do a lot of meta programming). But, the real
reason you should use ruby is, because you don't like the syntax of python. I
wouldn't want to work with something I don't like. And you can use ruby even
in apps which are not web apps.

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bmelton
You can use Python in apps that are not web apps, and not to be argumentative,
but I would guess that if we were comparing which of the two languages was
more popular for things that aren't web apps, Python would win by a very large
margin.

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skykooler
Why the "or" specifically? In my opinion, it's probably best to learn them
all.

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Shadaloo
It depends on your philosophical bent.

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ohgodthecat
Pick Python or Ruby and just go with it they both are pretty similar.

Perl is fine too but python and ruby are going to be a bit easier to do webby
things with them (in regards to getting started).

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mvasilkov
python

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frytaz
perl

