What's the most practical programming language to learn?

I am not a com sci student but i just want to learn something new. I already know C++, visual basic back in high school.





when i say practical, i mean up to date and most commonly used. tnx

What's the most practical programming language to learn?
Answering to your question would be difficult since it is not clear why you want to learn a programming language, and how seriously? Would it be only for fun and hobby, or you mean to take part in a development activity?





There would be some choices:


1. Standalone applications: programs which run on a single computer.


2. Server-Side Web applications: programs that run at a server to create a dynamic page which is then sent to the browser (a client). Server-side programming also requires you to know a database and its query language.


3. Client-Side Web applications: programs which are sent to browsers along with HTML tags, and then used by the browser to change the look or behavior of the page at client side.


4. Script applications: programs which do not need a compiler but a host application to run on.





These are my view and are rather subjective:





1. For standalone applications go straight to .Net programming; start with VB.Net, and then learn C#.





2. For server-side web applications, either learn PHP and MySQL database, or ASP.Net (requires also VB.Net or C#) with MS SQL database. Make sure that you have understood HTML markup language as well as CSS (Cascaded Style Sheets) which are used to create web pages beforehand.





3. For client-side web applications, go for JavaScript because, despite Java applets, it works well with DHTML features of the HTML. Make sure again that you have understood HTML and CSS beforehand.








Not bad to mention that ASP, PHP and (client-side) JavaScript use script languages (ASP uses server-side JavaScript), but ASP.Net, and standalone .Net uses compilers for a set of .Net languages like VB.Net, C#, J# and Managed (CLR) C++ (it is a .Net C++ language).





Good luck.
Reply:u know c++ so its standards and commands are similar to that of java. Both are different languages but most commands are similar as to keep learner upgrading themselves from procedural oriented model programming(POM) to object oriented programming(OOP). So you can easily go for java. You will learn it quickly as you have learned c++. This will really help you as you learn java, u vl also be able to learn javascript then this makes you feel comfortable creating client side programming. And then further you vl able to go higher learning Struts (Framework in Java). Which helps you in making website and other fun things which involve client and server. And further on higher level u can go for EJB enterprise java beans and then go for corba.
Reply:Well the .NET framework is pretty productive to use and it can be used to develop a wide variety of applications ranging from web applications and services to desktop applications etc...





Taking into consideration that web programming is also much in demand, you can learn ASP.NET. This will require you learning a .NET language such as C# or VB.NET.





Good Luck.
Reply:C++ takes more than just a year or two to understand completely. It takes practice and further learning at the college or professional level. High School just doesn't allot enough time to it.





Once you know C++ pretty well, then you already know 90% of Java, which is the next one I'd recommend you master. Then it would be time to move onto C# and .NET, both of which are becoming high demand today in the workplace.
Reply:c++ is probably the most popular.
Reply:Java is alright but it is dying and has a ton of overhead. It is a pain but since you already have the basic C++, I would say C Sharp.


C sharp is used in the industry more as it is more powerful then C++ but it is more limited.
Reply:Up to date is really subjective and relative. I think what you mean by your question are what languages are currently popular in software development. Java is certainly up there as is C# for .Net. PHP has gained a lot of popularity for small web projects. Ruby and Python have gained a lot of attention but I still feel they are less popular than the ones I mentioned.
Reply:java
Reply:c++
Reply:You've got a good start if you have C++. If you want a job a great suggestion is to make sure you have your algorithms down. I find employers are more interested in people who just understand how things are implemented. While people want as short a learning curve as possible, a deep rather than broad understanding is what seems to make a difference. So practice your sorts.





Beyond that there is a question for any question like this. Practical for what? Up to date and commonly used cover a multitude of languages. Java, for example, is a cross-platform language with lots of extensions for graphic displays and web applications. So is Ruby. Dot Net is Microsoft's answer to both and many others, which means it is primarily for the Windows operating system, not cross-platform. If you want to develop primarily for XP and Vista that may be the way to go.





If you can afford it, I do recommend a college course. In Unix. Apple's been using BSD as a back-end for their OSes since OS X, and of course Linux is a Unix Derivative. The biggest advantage, though, is that even Windows builds on many of the ideas and concepts which were developed using it. Learning about its file structure, which is similar but different, and about scripting languages like sed and gawk, will give you a good perspective on what computers actually do.





If you can't afford a college course, I don't recommend running out and installing Ubuntu. Ubuntu is geared towards the user and while it does have good development tools available if you know where to look the best argument for using it is wanting to use Ubuntu. If you just want to learn about Unixes, type a search request for "Free Unix Account", get a book or search for tutorials, and make sure you have some form of telnet or ssh installed in your computer (you can get free ones).





Meanwhile, C++ is good.