I've used a lot of languages, but these days its pretty much just Python and C. I used to do a lot with C++, but went through a phase a while ago where I had to use C (embedded compiler) and just kind of took it up as my low level language of choice.
Of course... "Looking stuff up" is definately in the top 5 skills most needed by programmers.Originally Posted by Yarin
I had a feeling someone was going to do that
At least it's good to know I'm not the only one...
I know that among the "hackers", mostly the self taught guys, Python is extremely popular. Yet, I dont think any university teaches it. The academics seem to like Fortran, C, Java, C++, stuff like that. I have considered learning Python but I dont think it has reached the level of broad acceptance that other languages have. Any comments would be appreciated.
For 20 years it would have been C, but as of recently it is Objective-C.
'C' is my favorite for OS creation, while 'C++' is my favorite for game creation... Not that I have done either of them.
Devoted my life to programming...
An analogy then... Many people have a favorite color, but that doesn't mean they would want to see everything around them, in only that color.
Indeed. I've also found garbage collection more of a nuisance than help. Talk about taking control from the user (er, programmer). Though I don't think it annoys me this much.
As per past recommendations from members here, I myself have been trying to learn Haskell. And I'll tell you, it's a lot harder to learn a new paradigm than it is a new language.Even so I'm enjoying it so far, I think it'll be worth it. (can't call it my favorite, though, yet)
Definitely. I can vouch for that....And I'll tell you, it's a lot harder to learn a new paradigm than it is a new language.
I never understood the need for functional programming, and still don't do, even though it's part of a required course.
I don't actually know Ruby or Perl (both of which seem to be direct competitors), so it's hard to compare them to Python. But I would definitely say Python is well accepted. So, that's a poor reason not to learn it. If you already know C++, it'll be effortless. Just last month, I wrote several utilities in Python, using PyKDE, quite efficiently, that would've taken me x4 as long in C.
I don't think selecting a paradigm is about "need". If you understand a functional programming language, you might use it if you think it accomplishes something important in a more elegant fashion.
And that is exactly what I fail to see. How and where it might be better.
Well you probably just haven't used it enough. Writing a program that solves a real problem is the ultimate learning experience.
Really, because both Haskell and C gets compiled int machine code in the long run, technically, there is no need for it. However, many fans say it's better, cause it's just more productive (and really, we all know that's the true point to languages). Ironically, I found this stupid/funny artical that agues with that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but his argument is that: Because Haskell and Python are more productive, it makes you lazier when you have to code in a language that sucks (C#, no really, read it
My "all-time" favorite is C. It's beautifully designed, and it's probably the only language that succeeds at everything it tries to be - A friendly looking, portable version of assembler.
In recent times, another language that has greatly impressed me is Clojure. Unlike other Lisp dialects, it has an enormous standard library (Borrowed from the JVM), great support for paralelism and extensive macros. Definitely the most attractive Lisp implementation, hopefully it will overtake CL soon.
Stick close to your desks and never program a thing,
And you all may sit in the standards commitee!
You could just as easily reach the conclusion that C# is bad. I mean, he talks about how some early implementations of the features he likes to use may as well be absent because they're hideous. (In the comments of the article, there is a side discussion on C#, and what has come down the pike more recently making that standard bit of functional programming less of a kludge.)Correct me if I'm wrong, but his argument is that: Because Haskell and Python are more productive, it makes you lazier when you have to code in a language that sucks (C#, no really, read it
Favorite? If pressed I'd say C++, but Ada2k5 and Haskell are great, but then lot of my recent compiler research stuff has been written in Python which is also very nice.
Preferred? C++. Easy. By a large margin. It is a horribly ugly mess of syntax forms, unnecessarily verbose constructs, and generally unsuitable for a lot of targets, but it comes the closest to providing me with support for every tool ("paradigm" or whatever you may wish to call it) I want to use. [Edit]And letting me code robust designs without a lot of pain is a lot more valuable to me than whether or not the source is easy to parse.[/Edit]
Soma
Last edited by phantomotap; 07-26-2011 at 05:11 PM.
