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After c/c++ what should I learn?

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11–20 of 32 posts

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#11
this is a toughie to answer. it really depends a lot upon your situation. first, its always good to become more proficient with the tools in your toolbox.

i'm assuming that, by posting here, you're looking at web development. here are some languages useful for web dev: python, php, ruby, perl

if you're looking to expand yourself as a student and coder, consider looking into these: lisp, ocaml, prolog

if you want to graduate with a decent corporate job, take a look at these: java, pl/sql, cobol

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#12
I think it's a great thing you did some c and c++ as I only skimmed over c in class and mostly done all my classes in Java (writting a compiler in java - gah!). Did you like it? I have done a little c++ on my own and there is so much to learn I was overwhelmed by all the libraries you need to know if you don't want to be writing c in classes (boost , std, etc).

As for web language I love ruby (and rails as a framework) so I'm kind of bias but try learning python or ruby or if you feel like suffering (I find it too old school (I'm not trolling)) some perl (which as a huge community - CPAN).

Also, try looking at a functionnal language if you haven't in class (I learned Standard ML). It really helps to graps some concept that are harder to undertsand with `clunkier` languages.

I kinda went off track but hopefully this helps.

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#15
It is unlikely that you know C++ to a professionally useful depth from one semester. It's also fair to say C++ expertise is more employable, and in more diverse and interesting domains, than the dynamic languages.

As best I can tell Perl, Python, and Ruby are all practically equivalent. All equally suited to web development. Just pick one. I don't think it's unreasonable to claim that Perl is still the most likely to be professionally useful.

I never got the lisp propaganda. I invested some time with scheme and didn't get much out of it. Yes, I wrote macros and used call/cc. The most useful idioms are in fact already available and used in the so-called scripting languages. IMHO, your time is better spent completing good projects with rock solid libraries than futzing around with the language fetishists. Maybe there are some deep insights from Haskell I'm missing, but I seriously doubt it.

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#16
Learn the guts of an OS (preferably *nix). Build an OS yourself in an OS class if your school offers it. You'll be surprised how important this knowledge will be in building/scaling web services. And, this skill set will be more valuable than just learning the same paradigms you already know in a new language.

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#17
In my mind, the three major branches of programming are imperative (C/C++), functional (LISP) and declarative (SQL, PROLOG). A lot of people will tell you to look at LISP, and they're right, but also look at PROLOG. It too will expand your mind.

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#18
Perl is a good language to know. Hear me out before you mod me down into oblivion! I'm not much of a Perl developer. At work I use Java. For personal projects I like to play around with the "cool" stuff like Python, Lisp or Ruby. For me, Perl is great for all the stuff in between.

For my entire development career, no matter what language I'm using, I've found myself using Perl on almost a weekly basis for little adhoc scripts. Generating test data? Text processing? Quickly automating some tedious task? Perl to the rescue. I guess if you know Ruby or Python you could do the same thing with those, but Perl is almost everywhere and you have all of CPAN at your finger tips.

Even though I'm not developing my applications in Perl I consider it one of my most crucial tools that I can't live without. I think every developer should have one of these and with its ubiquity and CPAN, a strong case can be made for Perl.

It also doesn't hurt that there are plenty of jobs out there for good Perl developers. We've all seen terrible Perl code and heard the jokes, but the fact is there are some very large Perl projects (some very high profile) being worked on by some smart people. Sure, Perl has its warts, but it's incredibly useful and a little discipline will go a long way.

There's my case for a practical language... If you want to learn something that will fundamentally change the way you think about programming then learn Lisp. I read the PG essays, the Eric Raymond stuff, etc. and decided to take a look. Eventually, things just clicked and it gave me a whole new perspective on the languages I already knew.

Re: After c/c++ what should I learn?

#20
yous tudy CS and only studied programming in the 2nd year?

What languages do you know more?

Id say go functional, entirely different, mindexpanding and might be very important in the near future because of concurrency/parallellism.

Erlang, Clojure, Common Lisp, Scheme.

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