[abgorn]

bbq, on 2 Apr, 2009 - 11:48 PM, said:

Just curious, the One of the big three Java, PHP and .Net, well my favourite personally is Java however would it be best to devote more time to just one and be an expert in it or would it be better to spread my eggs into more than one ?

Also just concerning knowledge in one dynamic / functional language, just curious what you guys see being used far more frequently in the development world out of Ruby, Python, F#, Groovy and LINQ, i have dabbled in none of these, so which would you suggest is the best to start on, o was thinking ruby or python however from my understandings python can be rather complex.

Interesting read, however i guess it really depends on when the bubble bursts and people take applications too far off the praticle and usefull mainstream, we are seeing this already as many applications (phones etc... ) are gimmitry and passing trends, at the core of it its my belief the future is in sound development for companies and systems and not just the flip flop world of consumers, i could be wrong but i just don't see that industry of tangeble software being sustainable in the medium or long term, the way forward is in scientific applications and systems and also in software systems to improve efficiency, not software that urges people to buy some junky phone loaded with some stupid thing ( looks at apple and that phone you shake and it does things ), that sort of thing is pointless and so impracticle, i don't see it going very far for the average users, perhaps super geeks and peopel inclined to being ripped off might go for it, however those with some sense go for things basic and functional.

Anyway thats my 2c, thanks for the blog link

I think Groovy would be appropriate for you. It's made to add to Java, not diminish it and it's completely compatible with it as well. I personally love it and I've got a couple of books on it.

[cfoley]

Quote

How is a keyboard unintuitive?

Ever watched a kid learning to type? Ever watched a novice typing a password with the caps lock on? Hell, ever watched a complete beginner trying to get a capital letter?

Just because you're used to it, just because it's been the norm for a long time doesn't mean it can't be improved on.

I'd love to stay and chat but I need to ready the horse and cart for a trip.

[geovoltoss]

Hey all, great peice; I hope to do be able to keep up with all that.

[Programmist]

I agree with some of these, but those are pretty obvious to anyone with a clue of what's been going on the last 5 years, who or listens to the Java Posse.

#1: I disagree with the "big 3" statement. I would rather say it's the big 2. Not two languages, but two runtimes: the JVM and the .NET runtime. Yes, PHP has become popular lately because PHP scripters can supposedly turn around a product fairly quickly and inexpensively. I've seen the code in some of these RAD projects and I feel sorry for anyone having to maintain it.

#2, #3, #4, #5: Is this really news to anyone? If you don't have people skills you've probably already been pushed out of the industry, regardless of how "1337" you think you are.

#6: See #1. Groovy, Scala, Jython, and JRuby have been around for a long time. Fan is a promising language that compiles on both .NET and JVM runtimes. Unfortunately it's sadly lacking in the development tools that can make or break a language. Keep your eye on it.

#7, #8: not ground breaking info, but probably not obvious to everyone. More and more companies have jumped on the agile bandwagon, eschewing traditional BUFD. Unfortunately many of these think that means ridding themselves of architects. Bad bad idea. Without architects you get lots of projects doing their own thing and often duplicating effort. This is more common than you might think.

#9: I've been using JIRA integrated with SVN for years now. When I get to a company that does not have an issue-tracking system, I recommend it. It's not always easy to get developers used to updating the status of their tasks, but once you get everyone on board, it's a great way to track the progress of a project.

#10: Not sure I buy this one. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't give a rat's a** about doing that much on my cell phone. It's nice to check gmail or google maps or maybe chat now and then, but other than that, I don't care. I have 20/20 vision, but I don't like screwing with the small screen and UI. This may become huge, but I think the screen size is going to limit this to niche development until the screens get a bit bigger and the price of phones and usage plans get smaller. Maybe > 5 years.

[Raynes]

bbq, on 2 Apr, 2009 - 11:48 PM, said:

Just curious, the One of the big three Java, PHP and .Net, well my favourite personally is Java however would it be best to devote more time to just one and be an expert in it or would it be better to spread my eggs into more than one ?

Also just concerning knowledge in one dynamic / functional language, just curious what you guys see being used far more frequently in the development world out of Ruby, Python, F#, Groovy and LINQ, i have dabbled in none of these, so which would you suggest is the best to start on, o was thinking ruby or python however from my understandings python can be rather complex.

Interesting read, however i guess it really depends on when the bubble bursts and people take applications too far off the praticle and usefull mainstream, we are seeing this already as many applications (phones etc... ) are gimmitry and passing trends, at the core of it its my belief the future is in sound development for companies and systems and not just the flip flop world of consumers, i could be wrong but i just don't see that industry of tangeble software being sustainable in the medium or long term, the way forward is in scientific applications and systems and also in software systems to improve efficiency, not software that urges people to buy some junky phone loaded with some stupid thing ( looks at apple and that phone you shake and it does things ), that sort of thing is pointless and so impracticle, i don't see it going very far for the average users, perhaps super geeks and peopel inclined to being ripped off might go for it, however those with some sense go for things basic and functional.

Anyway thats my 2c, thanks for the blog link

If you are going to learn a functional language, learn something like Clojure, Scala or Haskell. Don't buy into the whole "Functional programming languages aren't practical and useful" stuff, it's wrong.

I recommend learning Clojure.

[Nikhil_07n]

nice

[SwiftStriker00]

Really interesting. Never thought about the mobile device programming

[mikeblas]

Nothing about multicore or parallel programming, huh?

[doWhileSomething]

Good article, but it's certainly partial to web development (for a good reason).

Non-web applications are not going away, but the SAAS model is becoming more and more popular, and this is driven by web apps. Most, if not all SAAS needs non-web support applications though, just not traditional desktop clients (although some have both).

I *was a fan of PHP 6-8 years ago, much like I was a fan of manually doing my taxes with a pencil and paper. I disagree with the point that you can code a web app in PHP faster than you can in .Net. I do agree that the output of both projects will be completly different animals.

If you were not to include a single comment in both projects, hand them over to a competent developer in each resepective language, the .Net developer will be up and running 10 times faster.

PHP will be around for a while, hell maybe for a long while, but the fact is companies are not migrating apps to PHP, they're moving to .Net or Java or one of the new trendy languages that may or may not have longevity (IronRuby, Rails, etc.)

Flash is being used for a lot more than fancy ads, I might see this more because I am in the sports industry, things like interactive scoreboards, drafting tools, movie streaming etc. is far more advanced than simple ads and are all very common. Silverlight, which I have little experience with at this time, is a direct competitor of flash, not side by side due to adoption, but certainly chipping at the heals of flash.

The smooth streaming capabilities of Silverlight, advanced codecs and integrated support from the .Net framework makes silverlight one of the most powerfull new technologies in the last 2-3 years to hit the market.

Last comment, people skills are needed for any job, not just development - if you're missing these skills you're going to miss a ton of opportunities. It's ok to bite your lip when you want to bite someone else, it's ok to eat humble pie and acknowledge it, the key is to learn from this and hone your people skills. I don't think you need to make friends with everyone you work with, but it most cases, you need to extend respect to those even if they don't deserve it - even if its only on the surface. You will get more respect in turn from everyone else if you show you're a true professional.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

This post has been edited by doWhileSomething: 12 April 2009 - 07:24 AM

[Raynes]

mikeblas, on 10 Apr, 2009 - 06:12 PM, said:

Nothing about multicore or parallel programming, huh?

Of course not. He might be forced to talk about something like Clojure or Haskell. That could kill him. :|

[Deepglue555]

the new top 3 in ten years will Be FORTRAN, COBOL and QBasic

[Ipodhero178]

It is a good article, especially since I am in high school and will soon be going to college and the real world. Is C++ even relavent to learn anymore, or should I stick with Java(between the two)? I thought many in the game industry use C++, so I was planning on learning it along with Java(for school).

[doWhileSomething]

Ipodhero178, on 14 Apr, 2009 - 01:03 PM, said:

It is a good article, especially since I am in high school and will soon be going to college and the real world. Is C++ even relavent to learn anymore, or should I stick with Java(between the two)? I thought many in the game industry use C++, so I was planning on learning it along with Java(for school).

C++ is still very relevant and if you know and can learn C++, learning Java, C#(.Net) or any other language will be a breeze. In the end, it really depends on what your going to focus on as far as a career goes.

Knowing C++ can only help and it's certainly not a waste of your time.

[mikeblas]

Raynes, on 12 Apr, 2009 - 02:32 PM, said:

Of course not. He might be forced to talk about something like Clojure or Haskell. That could kill him. :|

I don't follow.

[metaforge]

Ipodhero178, on 14 Apr, 2009 - 01:03 PM, said:

It is a good article, especially since I am in high school and will soon be going to college and the real world. Is C++ even relavent to learn anymore, or should I stick with Java(between the two)? I thought many in the game industry use C++, so I was planning on learning it along with Java(for school).

I'd learn both C++ and Java if I were you. Although I would have second thoughts about the game industry - the hours are brutal and the pay is generally not very good.