Oh, I certainly didn't say there is no value in knowing more languages. But the added value of knowing more goes down quickly. That is, you get more value out of knowing your first language than out of knowing your second, which has more value than knowing your third, etc.

I also made the exception for "small domain" languages. Languages that are suited to do a specific task very well. Examples of "small domain" languages are TeX, sed, sed, gnuplot, but also "languages inside languages", like printf formats, pack formats.

Maybe it's just the way I work, but generally when I need to solve a problem, I first think up an algorithm, and a general outline of the program. Only then I write a program. It will mostly be in Perl (because that's the language I like), but it will lead to a similar program as the one I would have written in, for instance, C. Details will certainly differ, but not the approach.

Abigail