4 ms·

Fine: python, ruby, go, rust, elixir, c, java, javascript, plenty more. Pick whatever you want. Just don't pick a language that is known to be on it's last leg

by anm89 5y ago

Fine: python, ruby, go, rust, elixir, c, java, javascript, plenty more. Pick whatever you want. Just don't pick a language that is known to be on it's last legs.

brailsafe 5y ago
Ya, but PHP is actually still being used in a lot of agencies and in certain types of work. Far more than elixer and rust, probably just below ruby. Also I wasn't pointing out what you say, you're reading into it a bit. I haven't used PHP in a long ass time. But it seems like not a bad choice for certain markets, at least as much as Python and Ruby imo
- anm89 5y ago
  Compare what the PHP jobs pay or the career path they put you on compared to elixir or ruby. Not even the same ball park. Not even the same sport.
  - jhgb 5y ago
    > Compare what the PHP jobs pay Where? At Facebook? Or somewhere else?
    - anm89 5y ago
      yes, with the sole exception of facebook. If you really believe people are going out and learning php just to get jobs at faceboook I've got a bridge to sell you.
    - joelbluminator 5y ago
      Hack isn't PHP anymore...
  - monkey_monkey 5y ago
    I bill £650 a day for 'PHP development'. What is this out of the park career path I'd have had choosing ruby? Can you share some more details? Almost the best advice I can give to a developer is stop being fixated on language, and start being fixated on how to solve business problems, on communicating coherently (and like a human being), and being able to quickly grok complexity. The language you program in is almost the least important part of the offer (as long as you're competent in it)
- Zababa 5y ago
  PHP is used far more than Ruby. Wordpress alone dwarfes any Ruby usage.
  - brailsafe 5y ago
    I guess it depends how you quantify it, but I was thinking Shopify's use of Rails would have started competing for %
    - Zababa 5y ago
      That's a fair point, I implied individual websites instead of % of traffic on the internet. I interpreted this thread mostly to be about number of jobs, in which case I think the number of websites is more important than the percentage of traffic, but I should have been explicit about it.
dreyfan 5y ago
> Just don't pick a language that is known to be on it's last legs. I’ve heard that exact sentiment over and over since the RoR community aggressively started with their anti-php agenda in about 2006.
- lmm 5y ago
  Funny, Ruby seems like the language that's most obviously in decline right now. (Though as a Scala fan I shouldn't throw too many stones).
detaro 5y ago
Purely from the outside (I don't really use either), ruby looks more dead than PHP nowadays.
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  How so? Ruby just released a new version with a JIT and new concurrency model. Rails is releasing a new major version later this year with a bunch of great improvements. Shopify, Stripe and others are putting a ton of improvements into the Ruby interpreter. Many large tech companies still use it. Many startups still use it. If nothing else, it's still a popular scripting language. It's not as 'trendy' as it once was, but it's better than ever and still widely used.
  - Zababa 5y ago
    > How so? Ruby just released a new version with a JIT and new concurrency model. Rails is releasing a new major version later this year with a bunch of great improvements. Shopify, Stripe and others are putting a ton of improvements into the Ruby interpreter. Do all of these make it faster than PHP?
    - Mikeb85 5y ago
      Is speed the only measure of a programming language? Honestly, I have no idea how it compares to PHP. If I wanted truly fast I'd use a compiled language. The point is more that Ruby is still being used and improved upon all the time; far from 'dead'.
      - mgkimsal 5y ago
        > The point is more that Ruby is still being used and improved upon all the time; far from 'dead'. Exactly the same with PHP. The handful of Rails devs I know bemoan the fact that fewer shops are growing their Rails/Ruby use. I did a stint at a shop that was mainly PHP, but they migrated most stuff to a combination of node and python, because "they couldn't find php developers". While it was sort of true, they couldn't find affordable php devs to work with the legacy mess (which was only 5-6 years old), and it was cheaper to have less experienced (but more) node/python folks come in and rebuild distinct bits of the older PHP stuff (at least, that was my understanding as an outsider - this happened after I left). Some orgs are moving away from PHP - others are moving towards it. Same with Ruby, although I don't see as much movement toward Ruby as I do with PHP. But I do also see orgs moving away from each.
simion314 5y ago
I bet that there is a bigger demand for PHP devs then all the Rust,Go and Elixir combined. So if you need a job you would probably have better chances knowing PHP then knowing Rust. But if in your area is raining with Rust jobs then go ahead and learn only Rust.

by anm89 5y ago

Fine: python, ruby, go, rust, elixir, c, java, javascript, plenty more. Pick whatever you want. Just don't pick a language that is known to be on it's last legs.

brailsafe 5y ago

Ya, but PHP is actually still being used in a lot of agencies and in certain types of work. Far more than elixer and rust, probably just below ruby. Also I wasn't pointing out what you say, you're reading into it a bit. I haven't used PHP in a long ass time. But it seems like not a bad choice for certain markets, at least as much as Python and Ruby imo

anm89 5y ago
Compare what the PHP jobs pay or the career path they put you on compared to elixir or ruby. Not even the same ball park. Not even the same sport.
- jhgb 5y ago
  > Compare what the PHP jobs pay Where? At Facebook? Or somewhere else?
  - anm89 5y ago
    yes, with the sole exception of facebook. If you really believe people are going out and learning php just to get jobs at faceboook I've got a bridge to sell you.
  - joelbluminator 5y ago
    Hack isn't PHP anymore...
- monkey_monkey 5y ago
  I bill £650 a day for 'PHP development'. What is this out of the park career path I'd have had choosing ruby? Can you share some more details? Almost the best advice I can give to a developer is stop being fixated on language, and start being fixated on how to solve business problems, on communicating coherently (and like a human being), and being able to quickly grok complexity. The language you program in is almost the least important part of the offer (as long as you're competent in it)
Zababa 5y ago
PHP is used far more than Ruby. Wordpress alone dwarfes any Ruby usage.
- brailsafe 5y ago
  I guess it depends how you quantify it, but I was thinking Shopify's use of Rails would have started competing for %
  - Zababa 5y ago
    That's a fair point, I implied individual websites instead of % of traffic on the internet. I interpreted this thread mostly to be about number of jobs, in which case I think the number of websites is more important than the percentage of traffic, but I should have been explicit about it.

dreyfan 5y ago

> Just don't pick a language that is known to be on it's last legs. I’ve heard that exact sentiment over and over since the RoR community aggressively started with their anti-php agenda in about 2006.

lmm 5y ago
Funny, Ruby seems like the language that's most obviously in decline right now. (Though as a Scala fan I shouldn't throw too many stones).

detaro 5y ago

Purely from the outside (I don't really use either), ruby looks more dead than PHP nowadays.

Mikeb85 5y ago
How so? Ruby just released a new version with a JIT and new concurrency model. Rails is releasing a new major version later this year with a bunch of great improvements. Shopify, Stripe and others are putting a ton of improvements into the Ruby interpreter. Many large tech companies still use it. Many startups still use it. If nothing else, it's still a popular scripting language. It's not as 'trendy' as it once was, but it's better than ever and still widely used.
- Zababa 5y ago
  > How so? Ruby just released a new version with a JIT and new concurrency model. Rails is releasing a new major version later this year with a bunch of great improvements. Shopify, Stripe and others are putting a ton of improvements into the Ruby interpreter. Do all of these make it faster than PHP?
  - Mikeb85 5y ago
    Is speed the only measure of a programming language? Honestly, I have no idea how it compares to PHP. If I wanted truly fast I'd use a compiled language. The point is more that Ruby is still being used and improved upon all the time; far from 'dead'.
    - mgkimsal 5y ago
      > The point is more that Ruby is still being used and improved upon all the time; far from 'dead'. Exactly the same with PHP. The handful of Rails devs I know bemoan the fact that fewer shops are growing their Rails/Ruby use. I did a stint at a shop that was mainly PHP, but they migrated most stuff to a combination of node and python, because "they couldn't find php developers". While it was sort of true, they couldn't find affordable php devs to work with the legacy mess (which was only 5-6 years old), and it was cheaper to have less experienced (but more) node/python folks come in and rebuild distinct bits of the older PHP stuff (at least, that was my understanding as an outsider - this happened after I left). Some orgs are moving away from PHP - others are moving towards it. Same with Ruby, although I don't see as much movement toward Ruby as I do with PHP. But I do also see orgs moving away from each.

simion314 5y ago

I bet that there is a bigger demand for PHP devs then all the Rust,Go and Elixir combined. So if you need a job you would probably have better chances knowing PHP then knowing Rust. But if in your area is raining with Rust jobs then go ahead and learn only Rust.