
Ask HN: Should I learn Kotlin or Golang? - kev6168
Edit: I have worked with Java&#x2F;Python&#x2F;JS extensively. To be honest not very fond of the Java&#x2F;JVM platform for all the usual reasons.
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mankash666
Or dart and flutter - all 4 being supposed first class citizens at Google.

My personal philosophy has been to solve/implement the issue at hand using a
language that I consider to have "native" proficiency. Because, the list of
languages propping up claiming to be the next best thing is large: 1\. Kotlin
2\. Go 3\. Dart/flutter 4\. Rust 5\. Swift 6\. Scala 7\. Haskell 8\. F#

The advent of llvm has drastically cut down the time to market for new
languages. I'm certain a few more will get added to this list soon, so just
get the job done following best practices and without incurring technical
debt. This will make your work language proof

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jamesswift3
I do recommend you should learn both to help you gain experience to tackle
different problems, many workplaces lack programmers of those experiences.
It's like a triathlon that we aren't made to learn only one language.

Likewise, I like the concept to encourage learning 8 languages rather than 2.

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834569564/codescontext-...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834569564/codescontext-
learn-8-programming-languages-the-fas)

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usgroup
RE Java/JVM just try Clojure for a bit... it's really rather good.

Otherwise, do Go. Really useful for high performance. Channels are easy as pie
for concurrency. Web services, command line tools, etc; lovely. Downside is
that it's verbose and if you hate loops then there's no salvation for you.

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tinyikov
If you worked extensively in Java, you will find Golang really easier to
pickup.

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lovelearning
Perhaps both together.

[1]: [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-
interleaving-...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-
effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning/)

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blumomo
Did you already work with any another programming language (are you beginner)?
And which problems do you want to solve? Without answering these questions,
there's no chance that you get a helpful answer.

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blumomo
Ok, you are now answering the first question. What about my second?

Are you actually engaging with the users who reply to your question?

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kev6168
Sorry for the late reply. My work has been mostly business applications and
web site backend stuff, and I am happy to continue doing it. But I also like
to learn native mobile app development (bothe iOS and Android) to expand my
skillset.

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blumomo
If you want to go mobile, then golang is obviously out. If you choose between
iOS and Android, then I suggest to start with iOS first. It's much easier to
learn because it's not fragmented and thus results in a simpler platform API.
This said, go with Swift for iOS. It's great and also very similar to Kotlin.
I have programmed years with both besides many other languages. I however
believe that platform independent programming tools such as React Native will
become more important in the future. Still it helps a lot knowing native
programming itself. I personally enjoy developing for devices the users can
touch. If that's the case for you, too, get involved with iOS programming
next.

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jankotek
Why you do not like Java? Does Kotlin solve some of those problems?

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cdnsteve
What are you looking to do with said new language?

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kev6168
will mostly be business applications and web site backend stuff. Also I would
like to learn native mobile app development to expand my skillset.

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stanislavb
Go... or maybe Elixir ;)

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brudgers
Why not Erlang?

