# What languages do you program in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592 "2000-11-03T19:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/1 "2000-11-03T19:17:21Z")
I’m especially interested in languages besides boring ol’ C++ and Java. I’m currently developing a short–and short-lived–program in QBASIC. Modern computers are so fast that there is little real advantage to the more modern languages, especially if you just need to throw something together quickly and easily. So, what do you use, and why? ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/2 "2000-11-03T19:25:23Z")
I know COBOL, and I’m only 23. I say that because most “cobol programmers” are in their 50’s, and you’d think that nobody used it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/3 "2000-11-03T19:25:23Z")
Visual C++ is pretty good for Windows apps – Visual Basic being the quick and dirty verion. I don’t have access to a non-windows platform so these work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/4 "2000-11-03T19:47:26Z")
Count me in for boring ol’ C++. I’ve done my share of VB and such things, but I like the power of C++. Plus, it’s pretty hard to do the kind of coding I do in one of the lesser (hehehe) languages. OO is the coolest… ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/5 "2000-11-03T19:49:33Z")
I use (in order of frequency) C C++ assembly java VB with C being the most powerful and versatile. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/6 "2000-11-03T19:58:12Z")
C C++ ksh nawk various ESQLs used to do assembler, BASIC, FORTRAN… and my current favorite… Python Powerful, OO, easy to learn (really), simple syntax, many powerful extensions, and free. No concept of public/private members, though. In C++ only friends can see your private members. The guy who developed python thinks we’re all adults, so we can all see each other’s members. I like this philosophy 😉 And yes, it is named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus. **drop** , you should definitely check it out. Disadvantages - it’s a scripting language, so it ain’t fast. ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/7 "2000-11-03T20:30:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by c\_goat \* > \*\*I know COBOL, and I’m only 23. I say that because most “cobol programmers” are in their 50’s, and you’d think that nobody used it anymore. \*\* What version of COBOL do you use? I used to work with COBOL II/Microfocus, but I found that nobody really wanted to hire someone my age (23) using that language. Now I mostly use C++, PERL, VB and JAVA, and noone’s really been concerned about my age when they hire me to program in these languages. ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/8 "2000-11-03T20:35:36Z")
ksh perl C C++ Used to do a slough of others. OO is a crutch for people who can’t handle parameter passong. 😉 Lisp (r(o(cK(s)))) Prolog was an interesting experiment of no practical value. Fortan crunches beautifully. Cobol is punishment for misbehaving whiz-kids. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/9 "2000-11-03T21:43:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by porcupine \* > \*\*In C++ only friends can see your private members. \*\* As it should be! 😉 \*\* > [@](#): > > Disadvantages - it’s a scripting language, so it ain’t fast. \*\* Languages don’t have to be fast anymore. The computers are fast for them. Okay, before I get jumped on for that one, let me tell you that I prefer as little wasteful graphical crap as possible. DOS **flies** on a PII-450! I suppose UNIX and other character-based environments do, too. Another question: Have OO languages fulfilled ANY of their promises of portability etc for you? Or is cutting and pasting modular code good enough for your needs? I never needed to learn an OO language, so I’ve been pretty insulated from the REAL differences between it and modular programming, beyond the cutesy names. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/10 "2000-11-03T21:54:03Z")
Work-related: PL/SQL, Perl, 4Test Recreational: Inform, TADS Because I’m on crack: Fortran, ADA Although I have to say that one of my favorite insults to fellow programmers is to look at them, look at their code, look at them again, and say “10 PRINT “YOU SUCK” 20 GOTO 10!” ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/11 "2000-11-03T21:54:17Z")
Boring old guy checking in here. At one time or another I learned: Basic Assembler Cobol Fortran & RPG I’m currently employed writing RPG III & RPG IV on an IBM AS/400. It aint flashy or exciting, but they pay me a lot of money to do it. But now my employer wants me to learn to develope Active Server Pages, so I’ve learned HTML (more or less) and I’m messing around with VB Script. Great fun so far, and that’s probably where the action, (and the money), is going to be for the next several years. (And yes, you do detect a strong mercenary point of view here.) BTW, **c\_goat,** the feds still use Cobol extensively, albeit no longer exclusively, and probably will for many years to come, (if you’re looking to make some money writing Cobol). Forgive me if you already knew that, but a lot of people these days seem to forget that the term ‘computer’ also includes the _big iron_ machines. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/12 "2000-11-03T22:46:12Z")
**dropzone** In general I agree with you - the execution speed is not that important - just buy a bigger machine. 🙂 But if you’re writing real-time embedded systems, then you’ll care about that kind of thing. My opinion on OOPs - it makes the things that I wanted to do in procedural languages easier. Over ten years ago I worked on a system in C where we used developed packages and libraries that modeled classes in many ways - we designed our data structures with functions to manipulate them. Of course the language didn’t support this directly. So moving to classes in C++ was a natural for me since most of it (not all) was just new terms for concepts I was already using in my designs and implementations. I also have a lot of database design experience, which also made the transition to OO fairly easy for me. OTOH, when I started working a big company that shall remain nameless, I was told that their system was OO. It wasn’t. It happened to be written in C++, but it could have just as easily been done in C since **there were almost no classes**. :rolleyes: So IME plenty of people will say they’re designing and implementing using OO technology when in fact they’re not. My current project is definitely OO, and we are seeing the advantages of reusability and extensibility that OO promises in theory but often fails to deliver in practice. This is the first project where this has been the case. And python has been a _big_ productivity boon for us. To implement the same thing in C++ would require at least 3 times more code. BTW, we are using Java as well, but my experience with Java is pretty much non-existent. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/13 "2000-11-03T22:47:13Z")
Of course I meant to say this is the first project \*I’ve been on \*where this has been the case. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/14 "2000-11-03T22:54:58Z")
Check this out: [http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/computing/lang-list.html](http://www.hypernews.org/HyperNews/get/computing/lang-list.html) I’ve programmed in more languages than I care to count. (No, I’m not 26!) My current language of choice is Java primarily because of the large set of standard libraries. I’ve discovered over the years that choice of programming language is seldom a logical choice, although most people will give you a logical explanation for why they use the language they do. It can get to be almost as heated (and irrational) as debating religion or politics. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/15 "2000-11-03T23:06:47Z")
🙂 Hmmm. Didn’t know there was a language called “Cecil” ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/16 "2000-11-03T23:13:09Z")
I can’t boast about programming in a lot of languages, but… Am I the last person left alive who’s programmed in Pascal (none of your new-fangled Turbo Pascal either!) or, even worse, QBasic? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/17 "2000-11-03T23:25:22Z")
Bumbazine wrote: > [@](#): > > I’m currently employed writing RPG III & RPG IV on an IBM AS/400. AS/400? Whoo, that _is_ boring. 😉 My first programming was in Level 1 BASIC on the TRS-80 Model I that was on display in my local Radio Shack. That’s BASIC running in a ROM _interpreter_, not one of them thar newfangled BASIC compilers, ya young whippershappers. It was only because of the extreme limitations of Level 1 BASIC, coupled with my cheapskate parents’ unwillingness to spring for a Level 2 BASIC TRS-80 of our own, that drove me to learn Z-80 Assembly Language. Nowadays I program almost exclusively in C++, doing ActiveX and MFC stuff. I know enough Java and JavaScript to be dangerous, but not enough to actually be useful. > [@](#): > > But now my employer wants me to learn to develope Active Server Pages, so I’ve learned HTML (more or less) and I’m messing around with VB Script. Great fun so far, and that’s probably where the action, (and the money), is going to be for the next several years. Why VB Script? Everybody knows that JavaScript (or its bastard Microsoft offshoot, JScript) is going to take over the world. ---
**Author:** ![Lexicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lexicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lexicon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/18 "2000-11-03T23:25:50Z")
C++, Visual C++, Visual Basic, Java, DHTML and regular old HTML (if you want to count those.) Boring, boring. I learned all that stuff, and now I am bored with doing it and can’t imagine doing it for a living. Many people will look at my resume and say “Wow, what the hell are you doing in tech support?” and I have to say “It’s easy, it pays okay, there’s no stress, and I need time to figure out what I really want to do with life.” sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/19 "2000-11-03T23:31:30Z")
Languages I’ve programmed in that I remember From oldest to most recent. AppleBasic (Can’t remember its offical name on the II+) Commodores Basic GWBasic AmigaBasic (Was written by B.Gates, which should tell you how stable/elegant _that_ was.) Pascal TurboPascal ARexx HPPascal TurboC RPGIII C C++ Java Labview REBOL I am currently paid to program in Labview, and some C. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592/20 "2000-11-03T23:37:48Z")
Lexicon wrote: > [@](#): > > DHTML VBScript, JavaScript, or JScript? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-program-in/39592.md?page=2)