Most useful programming language

[OnCloud9]

Just your own opinions on what programming language has been the most useful to you in your life. I know preference varies on which route you decide to pursue in coding/designing/developing.

 

I was reading an article just now about how Python is the top programming language to learn in 2017 but I've been told by many different professors that SQL is now the best language if you want to pursue a job in programming. 

 

I know a friend who swears by PHP/Javascript and says they was the most useful for her since she's into web design and development, but tbh I've never used those outside of when I absolutely needed to (which is rarely). 

 

Article I read: http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/the-2017-top-programming-languages

[quux]

It really depends on what your interests are. The right tool for the right job.

 

For example, Python is great if you want to test some statistical models with machine learning and neural networks. Java can do this too. But with Python, you can do it much faster (not faster in terms of code performance but faster in terms of development time).

 

JavaScript is useful for web development, of course. Also SQL is good to know if you will work with databases.Personally, I use...

 

for university:

• Python (machine learning, neural networks)
• R (quick and dirty math and stats)

 

for work:

• Django (a Python web-framework)
• JavaScript (for the fancy behavioral stuff)
• SQL to keep our data

[Boba]

well if you do web development you're fasholy gonna need PHP, Javascript, and SQL

 

but yeah outside of that it becomes less useful 

[OnCloud9]

It really depends on what your interests are. The right tool for the right job.

 

For example, Python is great if you want to test some statistical models with machine learning and neural networks. Java can do this too. But with Python, you can do it much faster (not faster in terms of code performance but faster in terms of development time).

 

JavaScript is useful for web development, of course. Also SQL is good to know if you will work with databases.

 

Yeah it really does depend. When I first started programming, all my professors were like "there is never going to be one universal language that will solve all your problems so get to know as many as you can" but I didn't pay much heed because I really only cared for Java/Python. Now I'm really taking those words to heart and regretting all the C++/C# classes I completely slacked off in. 

[Raikou]

Java is too bloated, horrible compilation time. IDK why busted ass Android has it as their developmental language. 

SQL is useful and will be around as long as people quantify their data in tables. But could become less relevant if a big data equivalent emerges. PHP is a busted ass link between your front-end and database, so I guess you need to know the bare minimum if you want to do websites and shit. 

 

C/C++ will probably always be the programming language people are first taught but Python is better, easier.

 

By 2020, mobile users are going to overcome PC users so Java(Android) and Objective-C(iOS) are the languages to learn if you are trying to get coin. 

[quux]

Java is too bloated, horrible compilation time. IDK why busted ass Android has it as their developmental language. 

SQL is useful and will be around as long as people quantify their data in tables. But could become less relevant if a big data equivalent emerges. PHP is a busted ass link between your front-end and database, so I guess you need to know the bare minimum if you want to do websites and shit. 

 

C/C++ will probably always be the programming language people are first taught but Python is better, easier.

 

By 2020, mobile users are going to overcome PC users so Java(Android) and Objective-C(iOS) are the languages to learn if you are trying to get coin. 

 

Hahaha well done. Java is terrible. It's so verbose.. Scala, on the other hand, has better language features but still terrible compile time.

 

But is Objective-C still relevant though? I thought people were moving to Swift. I'm not a mobile dev, so idk.

[Deâ„“phina]

From my brief stint as a CS major, Java is a must-have. 

 

SQL is good for people who want to work with data, i.e. data analysts, actuaries... not soft devs.

 

Python was the only one I got to dab in before seeing that ish wasn't for me. 

[L'Amour]

Assembly Language

Edit: depends on field

[valentinna]

I voted for R but only because is the one i use the most. Since the licence is free and you can do almost everything on it, i think is a pretty good language for everybody to use BUT, i have a major in statistics so i'm saying this in a biased way

[OnCloud9]

Java is too bloated, horrible compilation time. IDK why busted ass Android has it as their developmental language. 

SQL is useful and will be around as long as people quantify their data in tables. But could become less relevant if a big data equivalent emerges. PHP is a busted ass link between your front-end and database, so I guess you need to know the bare minimum if you want to do websites and shit. 

 

C/C++ will probably always be the programming language people are first taught but Python is better, easier.

 

By 2020, mobile users are going to overcome PC users so Java(Android) and Objective-C(iOS) are the languages to learn if you are trying to get coin. 

 

I think universities are realizing that Python is the way to go and changing their curriculum to fit the needs of a changing world. My cousin's first programming language was Java at UT-Austin back in 2004 but they've switched it to Python, which was my first comp sci class at the same university. 

 

You know the weirdest thing is, I've never been formally taught how to use iOS despite it being such a top language. I wonder why colleges are forgoing including iOS in their official course work for graduation considering its usefulness but still including PHP, which imo is something most can do in their free time as it's not too hard to learn. 

[Raikou]

Hahaha well done. Java is terrible. It's so verbose.. Scala, on the other hand, has better language features but still terrible compile time.

 

But is Objective-C still relevant though? I thought people were moving to Swift. I'm not a mobile dev, so idk.

Objective-C is the backbone of Swift. Busted ass Apple just always has to be a special hipster snowflake 

 

Most of their changes during the transition were aesthetic aka they changed it so that some key words aren't as lengthy. Aka they broke everyone's code over shortening some key words so their code looks more aesthetic.

 

When I saw that, I swear to you my eyes rolled so far back I could see my skull.  

[OnCloud9]

I voted for R but only because is the one i use the most. Since the licence is free and you can do almost everything on it, i think is a pretty good language for everybody to use BUT, i have a major in statistics so i'm saying this in a biased way

 

I like R a lot but I feel like it's more for pure science/math minded jobs. My opinion is probably an unpopular one though. 

Shout out to R studio for getting me through my stats class though. 

[eriy.m]

I feel like C++ is kinda the basics and everyone should at least learn it before trying out other languages but that's just my opinion.

[OnCloud9]

Objective-C is the backbone of Swift. Busted ass Apple just always has to be a special hipster snowflake 

 

Most of their changes during the transition were aesthetic aka they changed it so that some key words aren't as lengthy. Aka they broke everyone's code over shortening some key words so their code looks more aesthetic.

 

When I saw that, I swear to you my eyes rolled so far back I could see my skull.  

 

LOOOOL

[Raikou]

I think universities are realizing that Python is the way to go and changing their curriculum to fit the needs of a changing world. My cousin's first programming language was Java at UT-Austin back in 2004 but they've switched it to Python, which was my first comp sci class at the same university. 

 

You know the weirdest thing is, I've never been formally taught how to use iOS despite it being such a top language. I wonder why colleges are forgoing including iOS in their official course work for graduation considering its usefulness but still including PHP, which imo is something most can do in their free time as it's not too hard to learn. 

IMO, iOS has a very steep learning curve. You would need a lot of one-on-one time or TA hours to properly teach students how to do it because it is so pedantic and different. The man hours are just not worth it for an elective, which Mobile Development usually is. 

[OnCloud9]

IMO, iOS has a very steep learning curve. You would need a lot of one-on-one time or TA hours to properly teach students how to do it because it is so pedantic and different. The man hours are just not worth it for an elective, which Mobile Development usually is. 

 

We do have it as a choice for an elective (its a mobile computing class) but I meant more of adding it into the curriculum as a mandatory language to learn. In a couple of classes I took in my first 2 years, we learned 2 languages in a single course and that gave us a pretty good overview of each language. They could do something like that with iOS and another language. Not go into depth with it but give us enough information to see if we want to pursue learning them more deeply. I'd rather that than having to take a course fully on the topic of C. (so dull)

[puellarum generatio]

I don't like Python, I don't think it's good language to learn, it's just simple and fast to use.

 

Java/C++ and SQL are probably the most important.

[valentinna]

I like R a lot but I feel like it's more for pure science/math minded jobs. My opinion is probably an unpopular one though. 

Shout out to R studio for getting me through my stats class though. 

 

The thing i like the most about R Studio is you can literally write your text using LaTeX in it while using the R codes, it helped a lot with my thesis

[Mr. Phoenix]

SQL isn't really optional - if you are doing any IT work for almost any company it's one of those life skills like driving a car that you just have to know. Making money requires familiarity with a major database platform like Oracle or SQL Server.

 

Beyond that, once you learn one language well it's easy to pick up others. If you are in school, Python will give you a good fundamental understanding of concepts. In the work world, you'll probably be using one of the Microsoft platforms, so familiarity with C# won't hurt. You'll have to learn 80-90% of what you need to know on the job, anyway, so it's probably more important to be young, pretty, and cheap.

[Raikou]

We do have it as a choice for an elective (its a mobile computing class) but I meant more of adding it into the curriculum as a mandatory language to learn. In a couple of classes I took in my first 2 years, we learned 2 languages in a single course and that gave us a pretty good overview of each language. They could do something like that with iOS and another language. Not go into depth with it but give us enough information to see if we want to pursue learning them more deeply. I'd rather that than having to take a course fully on the topic of C. (so dull)

My point still stands. If you make it mandatory in the curriculum then everyone will have to take it. They would need tremendous TA staffing to do this because your code will break every two seconds because of the tremendous learning curve. Every time you do an operation on your smart phone, the code has to explicitly hand off control to that particular handler. It takes a lot of energy/time to teach people what the specific handlers and controls are, what they do, the hierarchy of control between views. I can go on and on. But it is not something you can succinctly learn in a single course. So why bother teaching it at all? So leave it as an elective for students who have the initiative and interest in the topic in the first place. Plus they would need to have the funding to provide students with the same mobile phones to test out their codes on.

[OnCloud9]

SQL isn't really optional - if you are doing any IT work for almost any company it's one of those life skills like driving a car that you just have to know. Making money requires familiarity with a major database platform like Oracle or SQL Server.

 

Beyond that, once you learn one language well it's easy to pick up others. If you are in school, Python will give you a good fundamental understanding of concepts. In the work world, you'll probably be using one of the Microsoft platforms, so familiarity with C# won't hurt. You'll have to learn 80-90% of what you need to know on the job, anyway, so it's probably more important to be young, pretty, and cheap.

 

LOL I like your rough realism. Luckily, I'm young and cheap. 

 

Also, I agree. I've been fine tuning my SQL skills over the summer. SQL is one of those languages that you can't just be intermediate in. Proficiency will take me a long way. Hopefully, this will increase my chances of getting a good internship. Fingers crossed.

[OnCloud9]

My point still stands. If you make it mandatory in the curriculum then everyone will have to take it. They would need tremendous TA staffing to do this because your code will break every two seconds because of the tremendous learning curve. Every time you do an operation on your smart phone, the code has to explicitly hand off control to that particular handler. It takes a lot of energy/time to teach people what the specific handlers and controls are, what they do, the hierarchy of control between views. I can go on and on. But it is not something you can succinctly learn in a single course. So why bother teaching it at all? So leave it as an elective for students who have the initiative and interest in the topic in the first place. Plus they would need to have the funding to provide students with the same mobile phones to test out their codes on.

 

Very true. I think my problem lies mostly with how my curriculum so far emphasized Java and C but most professors told us that its languages like SQL/Python that are most useful in the real world. I understand that Java/C are fundamental languages but spending such a large portion of my undergrad career on them seems like a waste when most of what I needed to know about the two were already covered in the first classes I took them.

 

Like Mr. Phoenix above said, we'll be learning most of what we need on the job anyway, so why not let us explore more languages?

[Raikou]

Very true. I think my problem lies mostly with how my curriculum so far emphasized Java and C but most professors told us that its languages like SQL/Python that are most useful in the real world. I understand that Java/C are fundamental languages but spending such a large portion of my undergrad career on them seems like a waste. 

 

Like Mr. Phoenix above said, we'll be learning most of what we need on the job anyway, so why not let us explore more languages?

Girl, count your blessings. Less competition for the jobs. 

[OnCloud9]

Girl, count your blessings. Less competition for the jobs. 

 

Haha! Never looked at it this way.

[bluetoile]

Ooh I love this thread. It's super interesting as I'm interested in learning more programming languages and I'm kind of undecided about whether or not I want to further my knowledge on SQL or not.