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>So where to start? Being able to write a shell script for bash is about the
>bare minimum for Unix programming competency. Being familiar with Perl is
>extremely valuable. Other than that, you should learn at least one other
>scripting language, Python and PHP being perhaps the two most popular,
>though Ruby has a small but vocal group of supporters. Awk and TCL aren't
>used as much anymore, but they still show up in older programs, so aren't
>totally avoidable. Java and even Fortran show up in places, but don't worry
>about these unless you have to (or really want to).
I agree with the languages recommended by Soren, but there are reasons of why at most schools the first languages they teach to CS students are either Java or C/C++.
If you look at the job market, Java is in more demand than Python or Ruby (I know a lot of you guys like Python better than Java, but Java is a more marketable skill).
Lots of people complain, "but Java is too slow". That is not true anymore. Old versions of Java were entirely interpreted (just like old versions of Basic). But now Java is compiled to machine-independent pseudo-machine code, which is quickly turned into machine-dependent code by the virtual machine. Try googling for "java c++ benchmark" and you'll get tons of benchmark comparisons testing different features of the 2 languages and their running times. Java is almost as fast as C++ (for some things it seems to be faster), at least that GCC compiled code (maybe the Intel compiler still has the advantage)
IMHO, the languages that people should know are C/C++, Java, PHP, Perl and SQL. Those are the most marketable, most widely used and (maybe) easiest to use. Of course, I put efforts into learning more languages, and from what I've heard, Python, Ruby, Lisp, Prolog and others are a fine choice too. But the fundamentals are those first 5.
Chris Alvarez
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ext. 1-3837
IS&T Web Applications Services
Novell, Inc., the leading provider of information solutions
http://www.novell.com
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