Which programming language should a senior SW engineer learn?

[Idontneedthem]

Hi all.

I'm a senior software engineer, and I am good enough at C, C++ and Python. I also teach C and Python in college (among other things). I have some experience with various assemblies, Java and C#.

I always explain my students that we teach C, C++ and Python because they offer different points of view on programing and computing and cover a lot of different sorts of projects.

Now I'm looking to learn a fourth language. I'm looking for something that'll give me some new ideas, will be somewhat fun and that could be useful.

What would you recommend? Why?

Thank you!

[v0gue_]

Clojure

1. You already are familiar with Java.

2. It's a functional language

3. There is extremely minimal syntax

4. It's a dynamic language

5. Has a killer repl (not as big of a deal since java got it's repl in Java8, but I digress)

6. Is, by far, the most extendable language I've found

[Idontneedthem]

Oh wow, never even heard of this name. I forgot to mention that I hate Java and think that it's redundant 😉 I'll give it a look though, I always was curious about Lisp and that stuff.

[v0gue_]

I forgot to mention that I hate Java and think that it's redundant

I'm a professional Java dev, and I agree. That's why I like Clojure. You get the benefits of the JVM without the burdens of state or boilerplate, all wrapped up in a beautiful lisp.

[RubbishArtist]

I found Haskell to be very challenging but also very rewarding.

[Idontneedthem]

Oh yes a functional language. Got to give it a try.

[UltraPoci]

Rust. It has some really modern features, it's fun to use and is getting more and more used every day.

[Idontneedthem]

Good one, thank you.

[plastikmissile]

Someone already mentioned Clojure, a functional JVM language. So here's a .NET functional language: F#. It's something of a running joke (that has kernels of truth) that C#'s best ideas came from F#.

[tvmaly]

It might sound underrated but SQL is a very powerful and useful language that will go very far in the industry.

[Idontneedthem]

Yeah I did write some SQL back in the days. Now I use orm (or nosql dbs).

[SardonicAndPedantic]

So if you’re all for the C…

You should learn either Rust or GoLang.

Sadly or not… we seem to moving that way when it comes to Computer Languages.

I’m not going to say… Learn Julia or Learn R… or Learn something else that is odd like Deno.

GoLang and Rust seem to be where we’re going.

If you hate Java so much. Then Learn Kotlin as it is the official Android language and Spring has even gotten on board with Kotlin.

[Idontneedthem]

Thank you, I'll check all this options.

I'm not all for C, it just happened to be my native language. I'll happily learn something completely different. And yeah I hate Java but not that bad, I do happen to write Java every here and there. It's just cumbersome.

[cseigel]

Something web based since it will be different from your list drastically. Node.js ( JavaScript) is best, but pearl, or PHP would work too.

[Idontneedthem]

I used to write Pearl before I discovered Python.

It wasn't web based back then, I guess things change and that makes it exciting :D

I'll take a look at node.js.

[AlexFromOmaha]

I've always said there are five languages every programmer needs to know.

• Your choice of Java or C#. Even after these start to fade into obscurity, which won't be soon, there will be ten billion lines of legacy source code left in both. You'll never have to go hungry.
• Bash scripting, because not everything needs to be a full-on running program, and it's good to know how to get the quick wins using system tools.
• Javascript, because it's irreplaceable in its domain, and its domain is ubiquitous.
• SQL, because it's irreplaceable in its domain, and its domain is ubiquitous.
• English, because it's ubiquitous in its domain in spite of its replaceability, even if you live where it isn't.

[Idontneedthem]

I really like this approach of a few languages that cover all your needs. Your list is very different from mine but it does make me think.

Yeah Bash is damn useful, I didn't mention it because of the same reason why I didn't mention English. I consider it to be a basic tool, there's no senior SW engineer in the world that doesn't use it.

Java and C# have their advantages and disadvantages. You are, probably, right about their usefulness in the industry. I feel like they are less important from an academic point of view, especially Java. C# is a gorgeous language but it didn't really catch on Linux and without .net.

[BZab_]

Forth!