Which new language to learn?

[minitauros]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if you could help me with an issue. I currently know pretty much about web development in PHP/Javascript and I would like to start learning a new language (in which I can preferably also do some web development). Which language would you recommend for me to start learning?

For as far as my knowledge goes I am now thinking about Java and ASP.NET. For as far as I've heard, Java is supported on many platforms and a good language to learn the basics of, and ASP.NET is also a pretty popular language at the moment. Any suggestions on this? Thanks!

[chris.stout]

I personally wouldn't touch ASP.Net with a ten foot pole. I have no need for proprietary languages.

I really enjoy Python. You can use Python for CGI scripts. A really solid resource for learning it is Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed A. Shaw.

[JorgeM]

Having skills with both Java and ASP.NET will be useful if you are looking to expand on your horizons and become marketable in one of those (or both) platforms. As you continue to expand your skillset, you may find it challanging to master any particular area if you are trying to keep up with too many.

What you choose, will utimately depend on what your future plans are. Are you pursuing this just to learn something new, are you looking for work, etc...?

I dont beleive that one is better than the other. They are similar tools but each have their strengths and weaknesses.

The best thing you can do is spend a month on each learning the basics. By then you should be able to figure out which platform you would like to learn.

[BigPaw]

I really enjoy Python. You can use Python for CGI scripts. A really solid resource for learning it is Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed A. Shaw.

I benefited greatly from your advice too, thanks Chris. That's a great link, I thought at fist glance that it was going the be a "buy this book" link, but no, you can read it online. From what I've read of it up to now, just like the tutorial in the Python forum here, its very friendly to humans and quite perceptive. Thank you again. :)

[minitauros]

Thanks guys for the advice! I really appreciate it :). My main focus would be on web-applications. That does not necessarily mean web-BASED applications, rather just any application that supports multiple users to work with it and be connected with each other (directly or indirectly).

I've never thought about python, I'll certainly check it out, thanks! After some more research and after what you said, my first choice would now be Java. It sounds like a language with a good solid basics for the future (for if I ever decide I want learn another language). Thanks again for the advice!