Tips on what should I learn next

[Gregg0]

I'm a PHP programmer, and I think I do ok in PHP but I would like to move to another field, something not really related to web only.
Also I love programming and would learn anything but I would preffer to learn a language that it's still in use on the market today.

What programming language would you recommend? Justify your answer.

[trent.josephsen]

Perl. Because you're already a programmer of sorts, and Perl can be used for anything PHP is used for, you'll be on familiar ground application-wise. However, Perl is a much more fully featured programming language and carries incredible practical use, so you can branch out into whatever areas you like. Perl is also great for quick single-use scripts that can accelerate your day-to-day activities -- batch renaming of files, word counts, inserting DOCTYPEs into HTML documents, and adding copyright notices to text files are a few that I can think of.

[Gregg0]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.


Perl. Because you're already a programmer of sorts, and Perl can be used for anything PHP is used for

I have to ask, if Perl is used for anything PHP is used for why should I take the time to learn Perl when I already know PHP which is far more spred than Perl is and can do things just as well?

[gary4gar]

you should try Python - a very easy to learn and maintain.you could do lot of things with is - write General Desktop apps, Develop web apps, Even Mobile platform etc. The main feature is that its more productive because the syntax is very English like. Do more with Less is slogan with python. Once you started using it, I am sure you will fall in love with it.


Here a short intro to get started:
Getting Started with Python Programming

[Sockerdrickan]

I'd say go for C++. PHP is influenced by C and C++ and you say that you want to do non-web related stuff. Go for C++.

[Gregg0]

you should try Python - a very easy to learn and maintain.you could do lot of things with is - write General Desktop apps, Develop web apps, Even Mobile platform etc. The main feature is that its more productive because the syntax is very English like. Do more with Less is slogan with python. Once you started using it, I am sure you will fall in love with it.


Here a short intro to get started:
Getting Started with Python Programming (http://Getting%20Started%20with%20Python%20Programming)

I didn't mention it, but my very first programming language was Python, and I loved it. After that I moved to PHP :)
That was about 2 years ago.

[gary4gar]

I didn't mention it, but my very first programming language was Python, and I loved it. After that I moved to PHP :)
That was about 2 years ago.
Then, you next stop should be
C/C++ or Java(for multi-core programming, threads in C++ are painful)

[trent.josephsen]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I have to ask, if Perl is used for anything PHP is used for why should I take the time to learn Perl when I already know PHP which is far more spred than Perl is and can do things just as well?

Perl can be used for everything PHP is used for. Perl is useful for many more things as well. (Also, the people I know who use both tend to prefer Perl.) Sorry if I miscommunicated.

[Gregg0]

I think I'm going for C. I heard that C++ is mostly replaced by Java these days, what do others think?

[trent.josephsen]

Go for it. You have my full support and encouragement. Pick up a copy of The C Programming Language, 2nd ed. [1988], by Kernighan and Ritchie, affectionately known as K&R2; and add

alias cc='gcc -W -Wall -ansi -pedantic'
to your .bashrc to get the most out of it. Feel free to ask questions if you run into trouble.

It is true that C++ has lost a good bit of its popularity to Java, but both are still pretty widely used and therefore useful to know. I won't venture any advice on that because I know very little C++.

[nvteighen]

Having learned Python and PHP, I guess a trip into low-level land is what you need. Yes, C will be fine. BTW, this is the best C tutorial I know of: http://crasseux.com/books/ctutorial/