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I believe Go is eating Java currently. If you look at companies they're all quite different though. Apple uses a lot of languages. Google uses a lot of C++.

I believe Go is eating Java currently. If you look at companies they're all quite different though. Apple uses a lot of languages. Google uses a lot of C++. Facebook is a combination of things, but AFAIK their main platform is still written in Hack. Netflix is probably still mostly Java. Uber is Python + Go. I honestly think Java is going to come back in fashion at some point after all the recent updates, along with all the newer JVM languages ala Scala, Clojure, and Kotlin. If you're asking this for "what language should I learn?" I think knowing anything typed + Python is an extremely strong combo.

chrismmay 7y ago
Thanks for your reply. I think I agree somewhat with the article regarding the Novice Trap. I can learn them all, but I probably can't master them all, and it's probably a waste of time to try to. I think we are in the midst of a paradigm shift and it's not clear who the real winner is yet in terms of programming languages. I currently have the fairly unique opportunity of choosing pretty much everything about how I build the systems I'm working on, and so I'm looking for input as to which way to go. I'd like my choice to be the one that will be viewed as "the winner" 5 years from now.
holoduke 7y ago
In my opinion the minimum toolset needed to practically overcomes most usecases and give you a gigantic pool of career oppertunities are: c(++), java, python, Javascript and bash. With those there is nothing you cannot do. From web to direct hardware programming.
prox 7y ago
I’ve been working with ‘unfashionable’ php for quite a while, and I love it. I can create most things clients ask for. Thing is it is mostly a web/server language: talk to client, talk to db etc. Recently I’ve been installing Python and I really like it, as it less server oriented and more computing oriented, and it has been a lot of fun. I think enjoying the journey learning a new language is also important!
DonHopkins 7y ago
These days I don't think you can get away with not knowing JavaScript, unless your thing is pretending to be a luddite, in which case you shouldn't actually be using computers if you're actually a luddite.
- chucky_z 7y ago
  What would you call "knowing JavaScript?" I've written some greasemonkey scripts for automating work-related tasks, and done some very basic editing for helping others with visual stuff. I've fixed some folks node code, but that was just reading docs and applying the few lines of change. There are a lot of positions that never really touch js. My most recent project was working a lot with Chef, which is just ruby all the time.
  - DonHopkins 7y ago
    That's part of the spectrum of "knowing JavaScript" that I mean, since you're not afraid to get your hands dirty. But some "linguistically pure" programmers hold themselves above it all and refuse to learn it out of pride because it's deeply flawed and they don't want to sully themselves. Well guess what: every language (and CPU architecture) is deeply flawed and riddled with historical baggage, and programming is about getting your hands dirty and dealing with it anyway. Even if you're programming in Lisp or whatever your idea of the perfect language is, there's still a lot of tedious shit work and hacking you're never going to be able to avoid if you want to get the job done. The people who wrote the compiler that translates your favorite perfect language into x86 instruction codes had to get their hands really dirty with deeply flawed technology, and you have to respect them, because they didn't boycott the x86 because the PowerPC was more beautiful. It's hard to outweigh the advantage of using the same language in both the client and the server, and right now, JavaScript is the only universally practical choice on the client side, so it rules both sides now, in spite of all of node's and npm's problems. WebAssembly will loosen JavaScript's monopoly as it gradually matures, but right now all other languages but JavaScript are second-class citizens on the client side, and it will be that way for a while.
    - 7y ago

chrismmay 7y ago

Thanks for your reply. I think I agree somewhat with the article regarding the Novice Trap. I can learn them all, but I probably can't master them all, and it's probably a waste of time to try to. I think we are in the midst of a paradigm shift and it's not clear who the real winner is yet in terms of programming languages. I currently have the fairly unique opportunity of choosing pretty much everything about how I build the systems I'm working on, and so I'm looking for input as to which way to go. I'd like my choice to be the one that will be viewed as "the winner" 5 years from now.

holoduke 7y ago

In my opinion the minimum toolset needed to practically overcomes most usecases and give you a gigantic pool of career oppertunities are: c(++), java, python, Javascript and bash. With those there is nothing you cannot do. From web to direct hardware programming.

prox 7y ago

I’ve been working with ‘unfashionable’ php for quite a while, and I love it. I can create most things clients ask for. Thing is it is mostly a web/server language: talk to client, talk to db etc. Recently I’ve been installing Python and I really like it, as it less server oriented and more computing oriented, and it has been a lot of fun. I think enjoying the journey learning a new language is also important!

DonHopkins 7y ago

These days I don't think you can get away with not knowing JavaScript, unless your thing is pretending to be a luddite, in which case you shouldn't actually be using computers if you're actually a luddite.

chucky_z 7y ago
What would you call "knowing JavaScript?" I've written some greasemonkey scripts for automating work-related tasks, and done some very basic editing for helping others with visual stuff. I've fixed some folks node code, but that was just reading docs and applying the few lines of change. There are a lot of positions that never really touch js. My most recent project was working a lot with Chef, which is just ruby all the time.
- DonHopkins 7y ago
  That's part of the spectrum of "knowing JavaScript" that I mean, since you're not afraid to get your hands dirty. But some "linguistically pure" programmers hold themselves above it all and refuse to learn it out of pride because it's deeply flawed and they don't want to sully themselves. Well guess what: every language (and CPU architecture) is deeply flawed and riddled with historical baggage, and programming is about getting your hands dirty and dealing with it anyway. Even if you're programming in Lisp or whatever your idea of the perfect language is, there's still a lot of tedious shit work and hacking you're never going to be able to avoid if you want to get the job done. The people who wrote the compiler that translates your favorite perfect language into x86 instruction codes had to get their hands really dirty with deeply flawed technology, and you have to respect them, because they didn't boycott the x86 because the PowerPC was more beautiful. It's hard to outweigh the advantage of using the same language in both the client and the server, and right now, JavaScript is the only universally practical choice on the client side, so it rules both sides now, in spite of all of node's and npm's problems. WebAssembly will loosen JavaScript's monopoly as it gradually matures, but right now all other languages but JavaScript are second-class citizens on the client side, and it will be that way for a while.
  - 7y ago