If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
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Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#2It depends on your goals. If your goal is to do a startup, then the obvious choice is to really master an entire web stack. For instance linux / nginx / python / html / css / javascript.
If you want to do research in computer graphics, then you better learn OpenGL and C++ or .NET. Want to work in embedded systems? C.
Scott's recommendation of C# & Javascript is a solid and pragmatic choice, good for those looking for a safe career in software. But it's certainly not the right choice for everybody, and even 30 years from now there will be plenty of challenging opportunities that have nothing to do with the web or javascript.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#3I'd actually recommend a slight variation on the C# javascript combo - Typescript instead. There are all sorts of tools coming out that allow you to generate Typescript interfaces from your C# giving you really nice compile time safety through your entire stack.
If you're writing C# then Typescript feels more natural, especially in Visual Studio it removes much of the painful context switching between a typed intellisense driven development and a javascript free for all.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#4I would really like to know other folks opinions on this point mentioned by the author: "The web will persist and the web will win."
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#5Ultimately these things are a matter of opinion, but as a developer who knows C#, I'm not sure I'd bother to learn it again if I had to completely reboot my knowledge. I can understand the perspective of being pragmatic with regards to the job market, but while there are an abundance of C# jobs available, offers tend to be lower unless you're specialized in Sharepoint or very senior. Culture can be a challenge in those shops as well.
"Professionally" I've worked the most with Python, JavaScript, PHP, and C#. Of those, I'd only keep JS and Python. I'd swap out C# and PHP for Clojure and C in a heartbeat. Probably not the best for job prospects but definitely the most fun.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#6Folks, the big point of this article is not that Hanselman likes C#, it's that his list of options does not include Objective-C or Java. It's that he thinks that the web will win (over app stores). I strongly believe that he's right there.
At some point, app stores had "discoverability" as an advantage over the web. This has been one of the strongholds of native app proponents. These days however, with the enormous amount of apps available on popular platforms, this discoverability feature has become a joke. It's akin to searching the 1999 web for interesting sites but you can only use a badly managed, bribe driven version of Yahoo.
Whoever can make the Google of app discovery might make a temporary splash, but i bet that, not long after, people will return to plain old Google Search. You only need 1 major mobile OS to change paradigm and hide the difference between apps and web apps, and your mom won't care anymore. Given that the world's #1 mobile OS is made by the worlds #1 web company, this change is not difficult to predict.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#7"Ultimately, we're all amateurs." - Wow, that's something I've been thinking a lot lastly. It's true that a good developer can learn a new language (or technology, or even paradigm) in a quite short amount of time, but at the same time, when we're constantly doing that it's true that, as an effect and as the author says, we're becoming permanent amateurs. I don't have a solution for this though (maybe there is no solution at all, or maybe there is not even supposed to be a solution).
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#8my language would be python.. it's everywhere.. be it android, raspberry pi, scientific computations, and what not.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#9Folks, the big point of this article is not that Hanselman likes C#, it's that his list of options does not include Objective-C or Java. It's that he thinks that the web will win (over app stores). I strongly believe that he's right there. At some point, app stores had "discoverability" as an advantage over the web. This has been one of the strongholds of native app proponents. These days however, with the enormous a…
> his list of options does not include Objective-C or Java
He mentions Java, twice. There is nothing wrong with making web-apps in Java, and there are some nice web frameworks to help doing that.
Re: If you had to start over, what technologies would you learn in 2014?
#10I'd learn F# + C + Rust + TypeScript/ES6. Anything that lets me avoid learning C++ or JS.