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Eh... once you know a handful of languages, it's fairly easy to adjust to a new one. If I have experience in C++, C#, Ruby and Javascript, do you really think J

Eh... once you know a handful of languages, it's fairly easy to adjust to a new one. If I have experience in C++, C#, Ruby and Javascript, do you really think Java is going to blow my mind? Or I won't be able to write decent Python? I'm sure I'd pick up a few tricks and my code would get idiomatic but I am going to be 90% there from day one.

samvher 7y ago
I'm pretty sure Erlang, Prolog and Forth would blow your mind.
- codyb 7y ago
  Alternatively you can just grossly misuse them.
- omeid2 7y ago
  Prolog blows my mind ever time I come back to it.
  - bobowzki 7y ago
    Yes, it's an amazing invention!
- johnchristopher 7y ago
  And C would blow his foot, like it does for everyone at some point ^^.
- userbinator 7y ago
  Or anything from the APL family such as APL itself, or the ASCII-only derivatives J and K.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  Are there a lot of Erlang, Prolog and Forth jobs, where you are? Face it, we all pretty much use the same 10 or so languages in industry.
  - samvher 7y ago
    I'm working mostly in Erlang and from what I can tell there is quite some demand for Erlang and Elixir developers. Also there seems to be a lot of demand for Scala developers which while based on Java is not the same as those 10 languages. I've also used PostScript in a work context (which is stack based like Forth).
    - lacampbell 7y ago
      That's pretty cool. Erlang interests me, mainly because of what a amazing speaker the late great Joe Armstrong was. I don't really solve a lot of Erlang shaped problems right now, however. My situation is this - people see my CV, see those languages, and immediately dismiss me for Java jobs. I think it's a short sighted decision, but it's the thinking that permeates the industry.
perfunctory 7y ago
Ok, what was the last language you learned? Can you say you learned only 10% of it since the first day?
- lacampbell 7y ago
  Javascript/Typescript, and yes, pretty much. This are how you make objects, this are how you make functions, here's constants, here's variables. Use let instead of var for the scoping you're familiar with. Here's a standard library, it's a bit spartan but pretty much everything is familiar. Later on I stopped using 'class' and 'this' and just used closures that return objects (I consider it more idiomatic, YMMV). I got a good feeling for when to use an object and when to use a Map.

samvher 7y ago

I'm pretty sure Erlang, Prolog and Forth would blow your mind.

codyb 7y ago
Alternatively you can just grossly misuse them.
omeid2 7y ago
Prolog blows my mind ever time I come back to it.
- bobowzki 7y ago
  Yes, it's an amazing invention!
johnchristopher 7y ago
And C would blow his foot, like it does for everyone at some point ^^.
userbinator 7y ago
Or anything from the APL family such as APL itself, or the ASCII-only derivatives J and K.
lacampbell 7y ago
Are there a lot of Erlang, Prolog and Forth jobs, where you are? Face it, we all pretty much use the same 10 or so languages in industry.
- samvher 7y ago
  I'm working mostly in Erlang and from what I can tell there is quite some demand for Erlang and Elixir developers. Also there seems to be a lot of demand for Scala developers which while based on Java is not the same as those 10 languages. I've also used PostScript in a work context (which is stack based like Forth).
  - lacampbell 7y ago
    That's pretty cool. Erlang interests me, mainly because of what a amazing speaker the late great Joe Armstrong was. I don't really solve a lot of Erlang shaped problems right now, however. My situation is this - people see my CV, see those languages, and immediately dismiss me for Java jobs. I think it's a short sighted decision, but it's the thinking that permeates the industry.

perfunctory 7y ago

Ok, what was the last language you learned? Can you say you learned only 10% of it since the first day?

lacampbell 7y ago
Javascript/Typescript, and yes, pretty much. This are how you make objects, this are how you make functions, here's constants, here's variables. Use let instead of var for the scoping you're familiar with. Here's a standard library, it's a bit spartan but pretty much everything is familiar. Later on I stopped using 'class' and 'this' and just used closures that return objects (I consider it more idiomatic, YMMV). I got a good feeling for when to use an object and when to use a Map.