While people are right and learning more languages will broaden your horizons in terms of learning what features a given language may emphasize over another ...

*sighs*

A given language's syntax is, well, just that - syntax. I learned how to program in Pascal. I have never written a line of Pascal since I finished CS210 at the end of my freshman year in college. In fact, I can count on one hand I've seen Pascal code since then, and that was 7 years ago.

However, I learned proper programming style, and that was much more important. Since then, I've learned 3 languages to competency on my own, each in less than a month, and have been able to edit in at least 2 others. I'm not trying to boast here (especially cause that's really not that impressive - too many other monks would beat me out without trying! *grins*) The conclusion I've come to is that a given language is just syntax - it's a toolbox. Nothing more. What's important is that you use a screwdriver as a screwdriver and not an awl. (Though, in a pinch ...)

If I were you, worried about your skill level (for whatever reason), I'd start working on crazy problems. Do a bunch of obfuscations or play GOLF. Take a project you've worked on and bloat with with a ton of feature creep. Or, get out of the procedural languages and go learn a functional one. LISP is touted by a number of monks. Or, go do some sysadmin work. I built a Linux box this weekend, in large part so I could expand not my coding skills, but my understanding of how programs are used. What makes a device driver? What makes a kernel? Why was it built that way? I can then use what I discover there to aid other programs I write.

<disclaimer>Now, while I feel that Pascal is a wonderful teaching language, seeing as it was designed as such, I'm not saying that only people who learned to program in Pascal are good programmers, nor am I saying that learning in Pascal will make you a good programmer.</disclaimer>

In reply to Re: What languages to learn? by dragonchild
in thread What languages to learn? by kevin_i_orourke

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