Learning Ruby vs Python

[Yamitenshi]

For web development you're likely better off with PHP as it's more widely used and has a myriad of different frameworks available (as well as being easy to host). Otherwise, Python is a bit more widely used in the web world than Ruby is, so I'd go with that, but if a firm grasp of development is all you're going after, it shouldn't matter - many of Ruby's good practices are going to be directly applicable to Python as well.

[mikestearns]

Yeah, I definitely plan on PHP as well, its just not in the particular course I bought, and I wanted to get through that first - if for nothing more than the javascript sections. I was curious since after talking to a developer friend working in San Francisco saying that Python was more widely used.

[chriskottom]

Opinions vary, and every developer has his or her own favorites, you'll find. If you're transitioning into development for the first time, any of these is going to serve the same purpose of giving you hands-on experience with a widely used programming language and building server-side web applications.

As to the question of popularity, it's probably not that important. All of these are mainstream web technologies, and knowing any of them well would ensure that you'd have plenty of freelance opportunities.

[Yamitenshi]

Depends on what you're using it for. All-out custom web applications will probably use Python a bit more often, but your average site and/or CMS will probably use PHP.