[ale] Ale Inc.? - Let's stop the war... please.

[Irv Mullins]

On Monday 04 February 2002 10:51 pm, Kevin Krumwiede wrote:
> Sure thing.  I didn't know it was a war either.  Actually, I was hoping one
> of the wizened folks on the list would help me answer the question,
>
> "What language should I learn next?"
>
> <DUCKS AND RUNS>
>
> Seriously though, my thoughts were spoken and my questions answered, so I
> have nothing more to say unless someone wants to continue the conversation
> in private.  (That question above is semi-serious, BTW.)

Actually, I've enjoyed the replies - and it's nice to have my own opinions 
on several of these languages validated by others ;)

As far as I can tell, *all* languages have a "brick wall" - beyond which 
their use becomes either impossible or just too much trouble to be worth the 
effort.  That wall may be physical, such as memory usage, speed, or 
user-responsiveness (VB and Java hit this one) 
It may be a matter of comprehension and clarity - either for you, or for 
those who will have to maintain your code after you're run over by a MARTA 
bus (perl) .
There are also a few which make you build your own wall before you can even 
begin writing real code (COBOL).

I've found many of these walls only after I was two-thirds of the way thru 
some large project.  That's not good. I think the best skill a programmer can 
have is the ability to look a a problem and determine which language will go 
the furthest before hitting that wall. 

Which language to learn next?  As many as possible.  At least in enough 
depth to determine what their weak points may be. Don't worry about finding 
their strong points - everybody else is busy hyping those.

Regards,
Irv






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