Which dynamic language should I learn??

[laxmanb]

I know Java, C++ & C... I now feel like learning a dynamic langauage... which one should i learn between Ruby & Python?? (JRuby & Jython to be exact... and include Groovy if you've tried it). If you feel strongly about a language, that's quite welcome too...

[pmasiar]

I know Java, C++ & C... I now feel like learning a dynamic langauage... which one should i learn between Ruby & Python?? (JRuby & Jython to be exact... and include Groovy if you've tried it). If you feel strongly about a language, that's quite welcome too...

What are your goals with it? Anything special to solve? Timeframe? And why you are restricted to java platform with JRuby/Jython?

I am not sure about status of JRuby project (ie how many full time developers are paid by some company to work on it, if any). I heard that Ruby developer discussion is in big part in japan. Plus is, Ruby has only one major web app framework (Rails) and what Rails needs, Ruby developers provide to keep the Rails users happy. But I overheard that library support for Ruby is not as good as for Python. Ruby looks more like Perl to me :-) and it is by design.

Jython is not keeping up with Python. After Google hired Guido van Rossum (Python's author) and bunch of other Python gurus, speed of Python development increased rapidly. Python used to have more web frameworks than reserved keywords :-) but now it is down to Turbogears, Django and couple other (Pylons).

And by my personal opinion, Python code looks cleaner, has better chance than 20 years from now someone can read and understand it. So Python is more future-proof, IMHO.

Another nice dynamic language to know is Javascript. Aftr MS neglected IE for years and it become obsolete but omnipresent, and Firefox has engine replicating almost all IE javascript bugs and quirks, AJAX web applications are the next hype. Now MS cannot easily add incompatible extensions to IE, and we have AJAX as the windows-independent platform which Java wanted to be. :-)

[laxmanb]

What are your goals with it? Anything special to solve? Timeframe? And why you are restricted to java platform with JRuby/Jython?


I'm just learning to expand my horizons... Progamming is a hobby...I already know my share of C-inspired languages, and I feel like learning something new...

Timeframe?? I'm in 2nd year at college... I have lotsa time...

And I feel like JRuby/Jython because I just think by learning them, I won't forget Java too soon... and I can mix-and-match code created in Java with them...

btw, JRuby lead programmers are on the rolls of Sun Microsystems... It's supposedly Sun's reply to IronPython...

[lnostdal]

Common Lisp is very different (in a good way) from the C-family of languages: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=2224105&postcount=21

it is pretty much the most dynamic and flexible language you'll find .. but unlike many other dynamic and flexible languages it is compiled to native machine code for great performance