Ask HN: What programming language is exciting to learn and to work?

"a programming language that be exciting" makes me want to recommend some pirate-based language, but I don't know one unfortunately.

I've found the things you do in python pretty fun.

You might want to try seaside/smalltalk for something completely different: http://www.seaside.st/?_s=XBRlPkWQFO4mUh21&_k=uMS3uuIb&#...

Smalltalk is where the objective part of Objective-C came from. It is not at all a C based language itself though.

Hmmm, assuming since you posted an Ask HN that you read HN comments, it's difficult to believe you haven't seen lots of people talking about the usual subjects (at the moment) - node.js (javascript is the language), clojure, haskell, OCaml, scala, erlang. All of these will give you a new perspective coming from the three you mention, the first two are probably the most web-focused (though perhaps people will disagree with that?). Also, plus one for smalltalk/seaside, and minus one for python, which isn't mind-bending enough coming from Ruby in my opinion.

Lets be honest here most languages are much of a muchness, religious wars aside, and will probably all end up with pretty much the same set of features.

Sure I would like to have the time to play with OCaml / Erlang / Haskel but what I really want is the time to work on an exciting application!

Thats where the fun is. If I had the time to play with robotics, telepresence or virtual reality I would learn whatever language I would need to do it.

Languages, meh

Of all the languages I've mastered over the years, by far my favorite one was Ruby. It's a different experience than other languages such as C, PHP, or Java. Also: python and, to some extent, perl. Some of the emerging languages, such as scala and erlang and haskel, are fun as well, but if you're looking for an easy and fun web language I'd definitely try out Ruby. And then, after you know Ruby, take a look at the popular frameworks: Ruby on Rails and Sinatra. They really make web development fun. Good luck!

For the majority of people I don't think that it is the language that makes it fun. I think that finding a project that makes you want to wake up at 4am and go to sleep at 2am because it is so interesting is what makes it fun. Yes, I am a coder but ultimately I think of myself as a puzzle solver. When you approach the problem from the right direction you're already much better off than you would've been before. Try a bunch of languages out for a month, that's what I'm doing (OCaml starts tomorrow), and figure out which language works with you, not against you (Java!), to help you solve your puzzle.

PS: There were articles on HN in January about the 12 languages in 12 months but I don't want to look them up so I will provide you with the link I saved from them http://www.coderholic.com/12-new-programming-languages-in-12...

I have been experimenting with clojure and I am impressed and very excited every time I use it. I am planning to use it in a project with arduino since I want to learn more about it too.

If you enjoy living at the cutting edge, then it would be well worth looking at Clojure. I've had a great experience. For me the highlights have been: a proper LISP macro system that lets you treat "code as data", fantastic Java interoperability so you can use all the great Java libraries, great support for concurrency and functional programming.

I'd suggest finding out for yourself as it's a personal choice. Try a few and see what sticks.

This book would be a good start:

http://pragprog.com/titles/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-w...

clojure.

    ?- exciting(prolog).
    true.

Whether you'll actually use it for some bigger projects is questionable, but it's certainly a challenging task, just because it's a very different approach. And e.g. SWI-Prolog actually has a nice web package at http://www.swi-prolog.org/pldoc/package/http.html .

CoffeeScript!

It's got all the power of JavaScript (which, in addition to its monopoly on browser scripting, is now a respectable server-side language thanks to Node.js et al.), it's very new (first source push was in December), and the syntax is just beautiful—even nicer than Python's, in my opinion. I've been totally thrilled since I've started playing with it, and I'm using it for some serious browser-based projects.

Lua is very small, mature, stable, interesting, and implemeted with a small footprint. There is a new JIT based system which improves performance.

For a video introduction by the creator, Roberto Ierusalimschy who is a professor at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janro , watch the video: Small is Beautiful: the Design of Lua at http://ee380.stanford.edu.

Roberto has done several books on the language which are very helpful and interesting.