

Ask HN: What language to learn to get hired... - oldmanstan

..by a startup? (For web development that is, so: PHP, Python, or Ruby.)<p>A while ago, I saw a graph that compared the different languages, but can't find it now.
======
mindcrime
I'm pretty sure there are startups using any and all of the listed options,
along with Scala, Erlang, Clojure, Haskell, Common Lisp, OCaml, Java, C, C++,
Standard ML, Prolog, C#, Visual Basic, Ada, Tcl, Perl, COBOL, FORTRAN,
RPG/400, APL, Pascal, JCL, PL/I, GW-BASIC, Whitespace, Befunge, Brainfuck, and
Intercal.

IMO: Learn something you find interesting, instead of worrying about "what do
I learn to get hired." You'll be happier in the long run.

That said, don't underestimate the power of "COBOL on COGS."
<http://www.coboloncogs.org/INDEX.HTM>

------
gtani
[http://www.dataists.com/2010/12/ranking-the-popularity-of-
pr...](http://www.dataists.com/2010/12/ranking-the-popularity-of-programming-
langauges/)

[http://regulargeek.com/2010/12/11/9-programming-languages-
to...](http://regulargeek.com/2010/12/11/9-programming-languages-to-watch-
in-2011/)

For web dev one needs to understand the whole stack:

\- some back end language: I recommend looking into scala, clojure, F#, erlang
besides your 3, which are all terrific languages

\- database design and tuning (SQL relational and otherwise)

\- javascript/CSS and at least) compatibility matrix for IE, firefox and
chrome

\- reasonably proficient at linux admin: SSH, iptables, tools like nagios,

------
zoowar
TIOBE Programming Community Index for December 2010

<http://tiobe.com/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html>

------
donniefitz2
I think PHP is not a bad choice. It's not as cool as Ruby but it gets things
done (not that Ruby doesn't). If I were in your shoes, I'd go with Ruby, just
because my intuition says so.

------
chrisaycock
All three of those are used by various web start-ups. So unless you have a
particular employer in mind you'd like to target, just learn whichever you
find most interesting.

