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Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

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Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#21

Post by yazan94 »

_ea1k wrote: post #13

If you want to really focus on the frontend, I suggest Typescript. If you want to focus on backend technologies, I suggest Java. If you have other goals, I think there are a lot of other great answers. :)

Honest question, why would you rather choose Java over C#?

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#22

Post by exabrial »

Java, especially with the astounding improvements in JDK 1.8, and the new JEE specifications like CDI, and some of the incredible things coming out in JDK 1.9.

Great language that has stood the test of time and runs on Windows, Linux, OSX, and sometimes Android and IOS.

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#23

Post by agentultra »

OCaml or Haskell. They will teach you concepts you can take back into PHP or Node.js to make your code better. And in my frank, unbiased opinion: sound type systems and pure functional programming is the future of the industry.

If you're a pragmatist it's still a good choice. You can bring FP concepts to C, Java, whatever later on too.

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#24

Post by darreld »

cdnsteve wrote: post #11
zappo2938 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I only learn one right now will I regret choosing Golang over Java?

Golang is focused on scaling/concurrency, is very compact and fairly quick to learn. You can compile a single binary and deploy it anywhere. You can build a web server in a few lines of code. It's really strong for processing tons of requests, web API's and backend code. Java requires a whole app server which is more of a pain to setup. (generally speaking for web dev, think Tomcat, JBoss). It's way more verbose and…

I can set up a basic Tomcat instance, ready for a deployment, in a couple minutes. Weblogic or JBoss is more pain but you don't necessarily need that.

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#27

Post by RandomOpinion »

yazan94 wrote: post #21
_ea1k wrote: post #13

If you want to really focus on the frontend, I suggest Typescript. If you want to focus on backend technologies, I suggest Java. If you have other goals, I think there are a lot of other great answers. :)

Honest question, why would you rather choose Java over C#?

C# is a much better language and has better stewardship but Java has extremely broad usage.

Plus, speaking from personal experience, learning Java first and then learning C# is probably going to be a positive experience, whereas doing it the other way around feels like going back ten years in time.

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#29

Post by Scarbutt »

yazan94 wrote: post #21
_ea1k wrote: post #13

If you want to really focus on the frontend, I suggest Typescript. If you want to focus on backend technologies, I suggest Java. If you have other goals, I think there are a lot of other great answers. :)

Honest question, why would you rather choose Java over C#?

Way more mature for linux, with all Microsoft efforts, C# still has a long way to catch up on that platform. Also, your Java skills will be transferable to Android.

Re: Ask HN: If I only learn one static typed language, which one should I learn?

#30

Post by CleanCut »

That's a context-dependent question. If you want to do systems-level stuff that's safe, concurrent, and fast, then learn Rust! I'm having lots of fun with Rust. :-)

If you don't want some of those attributes, then Rust probably isn't the best answer for you.

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