

Ask HN: best programming language to learn? - kralik

Hi, I am wondering what would be the most useful programming language to start learning. The one with more possibilities of growth and diversification.
======
daven11
If you want to do web browser then javascript

For apple (IOS/OSX) then objective C or maybe Ruby or lua

Embedded programming then C

Microsoft you have a large choice C# or VB.Net perhaps

Android is Java

Enterprise programming then Java or C#

Pose value haskell or scala :-)

It depends on your background and what you want to do. I think every developer
should know C or C++ but not as a starter unless you like serious hacking.
Javascript is the language of the web browser so you'd need to know that for
any browser programming. Enterprises run on C# or Java.

Then of course there are all the scripting languages python is perhaps the
most popular for general scripting, or powershell for windows

------
sgt101
I think that the possibilities of growth and diversification element of your
question is less dependent on the language per-say and more dependent on the
languages eco-system. Objective C gives lots of options because of this, as
does java, javascript and C++. Python is definitely up and coming here because
US academia seems to have picked it up, although I think it's slow and I can't
work the configuration management elements (I constantly get this egg needs
this egg type issues) - still I have just dabbled (for much the same reasons
as you!) so I know little. I do know though that there are many interesting
projects using python now and that as a language it's very well thought
through and powerful semantically.

------
hath995
Javascript is pretty hot right now with the advent of NodeJS. Scala and
Clojure are the up and comers. Python is a solid choice. Java, C/C++ are
classic and have some new features on the horizon. Haskell, Erlang, and other
lisp varieties are enjoying a resurgence.

Those languages cover many genres of programs: Scientific,
parallel/concurrent, server-side, client-side, desktop, mobile, embedded,
scripting, business, gaming, and so on.

The question is what are you most interested in? Are you trying to find a job
or are you learning because you find it interesting? Do you have projects in
mind? What would be the right tool for the job?

------
jonas_maj
C, C++, Python, C# -- in that order. Should definitely start with C.

