Three plus One Programming Languages to Learn

Introduction

There are a lot of posts advising people to study this or that language. A relatively recent article on this topic I enjoyed was Michael O. Church’s Six languages to master. He picks Python, C, ML, Clojure, and Scala — and English. I’d like to offer a slight alternative. I fully agree on Python and C, but I differ in my recommendation for a functional language.

Based on my experience, recommend the following mix, if you want to maximise your time: Python, C, Haskell, and one language that is widely used in the industry to get your foot in the door. Your learning shouldn’t stop at that point, but thankfully one of the benefits of being versed in multiple paradigms is that you will find it easy to pick up a new language. Indeed, the benefits of Python, C, and Haskell are that they expose you to vastly different programming paradigms. Further, for all languages there are well-developed tools available, and they are surrounded by active communities.

A Multi-paradigm Language: Python

Many CS curricula start out with an introductory or remedial programming course in Java, and more recently there has been a push towards Python at some schools. Java is hopelessly bloated, even though there are attempts to modernise the language, for instance with the recent introduction of anonymous functions in Java 8. Still, the language is way too verbose, and virtually impossible to program in without an IDE. Further, it forces upon its users object-orientation — in my biased view a detour in the evolution of programming languages if not a cul-de-sac —, and does so in a rather awkward manner. There is too much work involved. While a good IDE can make writing Java code less tedious, the resulting code is nonetheless too cumbersome.
On the other hand, Python is a relatively elegant language that allows you to grow as a programmer. I would not recommend it for any serious work, due to its missing type system, but it’s fairly easy to get started with it. For a beginner it’s arguably more motivating to be able to execute a half-broken program than being told over and over by the compiler that her types don’t match. At first, you can write short sequential programs. Afterwards,, you can learn about object-orientation if you want to, and you’ll even find typical functional programming constructs in Python, such as higher-order functions or list comprehensions.

Even better, a simple code editor will perfectly suffice to get work done. It’s possible to do achieve quite a bit in an interactive environment in a browser. I’ve completed a number of MOOCs that were using Python as a teaching language, and it turned out that is feasible to write programs with a few hundred lines in an environment like CodeSkulptorAs a budding programmer you could do a lot worse for a first language.

Personally, I hope that Pyret, developed by the PLT group at Brown University, will gain some traction in computer science education, since it is a better design than Python overall, and even provides a path towards handling types with confidence.

A Systems Language: C

James Iry describes C as “a powerful gun that shoots both forward and backward simultaneously”. Indeed, C is the kind of language that should be written by machines, not humans. There are domain-specific languages that do exactly that by only allowing a subset of all possible C programs to be written, but for those certain guarantees can be made.

When I first worked with C I was quite taken aback by the lack of support from the compiler. There were plenty of instances where I wondered why there was no in-built check, for instance when trying to modify variables that were declared but not initialised. It can’t think of a case where anybody would want to do that. The common counter-argument is that C is intended for programmers who know what they are doing. The sad reality, though, is that the arrogance of C programmers, which you often encounter, is entirely misplaced. Sure, if you pay really close attention, your code will be error-free. However, it is very easy to make mistakes in C, and people are making a lot of mistakes. Alas, this is the root of null-pointer exceptions, segmentation faults, buffer overflow errors, or memory leaks. I don’t want to know what working in C was like before the advent of Valgrind.

Given this rather negative impression, why should you bother to learn C at all? For one, it will teach you about the relation between the code you write and the machine it is executed on, since your code will map rather closely to the underlying hardware. You can directly access memory locations, for instance, which is beneficial when programming embedded systems. Furthermore, there are virtues in the language itself, like its simplicity. The entire language is described in a short and well-written book that has been around for almost four decades now.

You might never have to write C code in your professional career. However, there are plenty of instances when it will come in handy, even if your application is written in a higher-level language. Quite a few languages allow you to call C through so-called foreign-function interfaces, and maybe implementing that one tight loop in C will give your program a competitive edge.

I’m not very familiar with development regarding languages on the systems level, but Mozilla’s Rust programming language might be a strong contender to replace C in many domains. That language is not yet production-ready, but it seems to be an enormous improvement over C. On the other hand, given how ubiquitous software written in C is, one might reasonably cast into doubt whether C will ever be replaced. It’s more likely that it will be relegated to an ever-shrinking niche, in addition to never-ending maintenance work on existing systems written in C, which won’t be replaced.

A Functional Language: Haskell

There are many functional programming languages you could chose to learn. I’m admittedly biased because I study in a department that has played a fundamental role in the development of Haskell. Consequently, I was able to do some university coursework in that language, instead of Java or C++, like it is common in so many other computer science departments. The first functional language I learnt was the Lisp-dialect Scheme, though, and I’m familiar with a few others.

Haskell has a very mature ecosystem, a fast compiler, powerful libraries. Further, there are excellent textbooks available, ranging from the beginner to the advanced professional level. Those are all ancillary factors, though, but with them you will have much less reason to snub your nose at the beautiful syntax of Haskell, it’s expressiveness, and the sheer elegance in its code that is achievable with some practice. But don’t worry, if you really want to, you can write some downright horrendous code in it, too. The static type system might infuriate you at first, though, but once you’ve gotten used to it, you may sorely miss it when working in a language without type inference.

Quite a few students who are exposed to Haskell at university avoid this language like the plague afterwards, but for others it becomes their go-to language. When I’m working on some code for myself, or as an exercise, I often write the first version in Haskell, due to the fact that it is so straightforward to map the program logic you want to express to actual code. This helps you to check your understanding of the problem, and solve conceptual issues.

In CS there is the cliché that “X will make you a better programmer”. No matter what it is — arcane theory, technologies, languages — everything supposedly has the potential to turn you into a better programmer. I have my doubts about this claim in general, given that it is not at all uncommon that computer science students can barely program, thanks to mandatory group work and merely optional programming courses. Still, if you take Haskell seriously, it will expose you to a different model of programming. I’ve given some examples previously. For instance, in one post I highlighted the elegant syntax of Haskell, in another I described a very concise implementation of the game 2048. I hope this will make you at the very least curious about this language.

Another potential future benefit, which is the big hope of people wanting to see greater real world use of functional languages, is the fact that it is much easier to parallelise purely functional code. In some domains this is eminently useful. Lastly, unlike imperative languages, functional languages are all rather similar. If you know one, you can very easily pick up another one. The switch from Haskell to any other functional programming language will take much less time than switching from one imperative language to another, maybe with the exception of C# and Java.

But why not ML, Scala, or a Lisp?

Haskell is simply more advanced that Standard ML or OCaml, the only ML dialects that are widely used. Further, their respective communities are smaller. The IRC channel #haskell is generally very busy, while #ocaml sometimes feels like a ghost town. This might be an important aspect when learning a language. On the other hand, working with mutable state in OCaml is more straight-forward. Therefore, it might be easier to get used to OCaml, if you’ve never done any functional programming.

Scala is an immensely bloated language. My instinctive reaction to Scala was that something that ugly can’t have a clean implementation, and consequently I was not overly surprised when Paul Phillips, the main compiler writer on the Scala team, called it quits, and went on what seems like a retribution tour, spilling the beans on the nastiness hidden in the Scala compiler. It’s quite fascinating to watch his presentations. His talk We’re Doing it All Wrong will probably give you some good reasons to stay clear of Scala. I’ve learnt that the reality is even more unpalatable than I thought, given that the Scala team went out of their way to obfuscate (!) some of the complexities and poor design decisions.

Lisp is a nice language to explore, but maybe not as a first functional language. The syntax is somewhat awkward, and the missing type-inference can be frustrating. The neat thing about it is that when you’re writing Lisp code, you’re writing a parse tree, which leads to a possibly surprising amount of flexibility. I’d recommend Gregor Kiczales’ Coursera MOOC Introduciton to Systematic Program Design, which uses the Lisp dialect Racket. In some corners, the Lisp dialect Clojure is all the rage. If you have to target the JVM, then using that language is arguably quite tempting. Personally, I’d rather use Clojure than Scala.

A Practical Language that Pays the Bills

You got some experience in Python, C, and Haskell, but will this get you a job? While there are jobs available in which either of these languages is used, they will hardly maximise your chances of finding gainful employment. Python is a good language to know, but larger Python programs are rather fragile, due to their poor type system. C is common in embedded programming. This seems to be a good field to work in, but it’s a bit of a niche. It might require a much more specialised education, though, like a specialised MSc degree instead of a more open-ended degree in computer science or software engineering.

Compared to Haskell embedded programming is a huge niche. A very small number of companies is using Haskell, but normally only in small teams. Credit Suisse was a name that used to be mentioned all the time in functional programming circles when there was a need to prove the real-world relevance of Haskell, but, according to online sources, that team was disbanded. Standard Chartered employs some of the most well-known Haskell programmers, and there are some lesser-known companies using functional languages, but it’s not a lot, and many are highly specialised. A PhD almost seems like a prerequisite.

A more realistic option is therefore picking up one language and a relevant framework. With a solid grounding in languages from various paradigms, learning a new language is quite easy, as I wrote before. I’d recommend looking into your local job market, or the job market in cities you would like to work in, and tailor your education accordingly.

My impression is that Ruby on Rails is very popular, and there are countless jobs available. If you’ve been exposed to Java at university, then you could hope that your employer lets you use the more advanced features that were introduced in Java 8, which make this language more palatable. C# is often touted as a more pleasant alternative to Java, so that may be a direction to go into. Good knowledge of Java can also be leveraged for Android. Speaking of mobile applications, iOS development is still an exciting field. I had a look at ObjectiveC but wasn’t too pleased, but Apple is now fully committed to Swift, which might be an attractive alternative.

Knowing those three plus one languages, you’ll be far ahead of the typical graduate. Honestly, though, you’ll be way ahead of the curve if you can code up FizzBuzz, but that’s a topic for another day.

4 thoughts on “Three plus One Programming Languages to Learn

  1. Michael O Church

    I would probably swap Scala out for Haskell, if I wrote that article today.

    On small projects, Scala is quite usable. It also is a strong candidate for your employable “plus one” language. However, it’s pretty painful on large single-program projects (which I generally think one should avoid, but are sometimes inevitable) due to compiler speed, IDE culture, and type-system complexity (which is a major issue if not all the programmers are good).

    I might drop ML. I’d certainly include Haskell and keep Clojure.

    Reply
  2. mihao

    I think Ruby fits the bill for a multi-paradigm language much better than Python. Ruby is a language worth consideration on its own merits, and not just because of the popularity of Rails (which is slowly fading, as it seems). Just like Python, Ruby supports imperative, object-oriented and functional paradigms.

    When you learn OO, Ruby feels more natural. You can write for example
    [‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’].join(‘ ‘).length.to_s
    while Python encourages you to use functions instead of methods:
    str(len(‘ ‘.join([‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’])))
    I know it’s also possible to write
    ‘ ‘.join([‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’]).__len__().__str__()
    in Python, but I don’t think anybody enourages this style. One simply needs to memorise which functionalities are available as functions, which are available as methods, and where these methods are (it’s certainly not obvious that join is a method of a string, not of a list). I know it’s not a big deal for more advanced programmers, but when somebody learns a new paradigm, it’s better to use a language that doesn’t have such distracting idiosyncracies. In addition, at some point you will probably have to learn both Python 2 and 3, so the number of arbitrary syntactic distinctions to be aware of will get even larger.

    The functional paradigm is better supported by Ruby, too. You can easily convert blocks to procs or lambdas and pass them around. And it is done all the time in actual Ruby code. In comparison, lambdas are very restricted in Python, and while it’s possible to pass functions around, it’s much less often done in practice. Moreover, the use of functions such as reduce() seems to be discouraged, as it needs to be specifically imported in order to be used. In Ruby all the basic functional stuff is right there from the start in the core language.

    The advantage of Python is that it is used in practice in wide variety of software, while Ruby, because of Rails, got associated only with web apps. But then again, there is a large number of Ruby gems that have nothing to do with web, and it looks like, in general, there are more gems than Python packages.

    By the way, thanks for the link to the “We’re doing it all wrong” talk. It was very interesting, even though I think some things were a bit exaggerated. I wonder why Paul Philips got involved with Scala in the first place, I think the design principles of, say, Haskell, fit his requirements much better.

    I see the problems with Scala, but I think you’re dismissing it a bit too easily. For one, if you think using OO and functional paradigms at the same time may be useful (as I do), Scala simply has very few contenders. Apart from that, Scala is something like “Perl of functional languages”: it’s not designed to be pure or have easily parsable syntax, but it’s designed to be used to get the real-world shit done with little boilerplate. And it’s fulfilling this function pretty well. Now that we have Ruby, there is no point in learning Perl. But in case of Scala, for now I can’t see any language that would fix its problems without sacrificing practical real-world usability. And with things like Spark, Scala already at the stage where it can be considered “a practical language that pays the bills”.

    As for Lisps, when you are already familiar with strongly-typed functional languages and modern dynamic languages, Lisp doesn’t seem as profound as many of its advocates seem to imply. But Lisps are still unparalleled for learning about homoiconicity and macros, and this is something certainly useful to know about. Clojure has all the important features of Lisp, is functional (imperative programming is so last-century) and quite clean (for a language with Java interop). Scheme is probably best for purists, but I’m not sure if it offers enough advantages over Clojure.

    Sorry for the long comment. Yes, I know, I probably should start a blog…

    Reply
    1. Gregor Ulm Post author

      Python certainly has its ugly parts, which includes the string join method. The language itself is quite messy, in fact. Yet, it is a decent multi-paradigm programming language, which has the added bonus that it is used for “serious” work. On the other hand, Ruby is, as you correctly state, much more associated with web development. The web development community is, in my opinion, somewhat immature, and it is not at all uncommon that people lack a proper foundation in computer science, or even in plain programmatic thinking. I heard (employed) web developers say the most absurd things, like “types are only a hindrance to programming” (Rubyist). Let’s not sugar-coat it too much: The actual statement was,”types keep you from getting sh*t done”. This was only topped by a dude telling me, in a technical interview for a non-web dev role, that he doesn’t think there is a difference between functional and imperative programming (Python web dev with some exposure to Erlang). Well, just skim discussions on Hacker News, and you know what’s up in that corner of the profession.

      Haskell is a much more concise functional language than Scala, and it is pure as well. As a first functional programming language, you are much better served with the former than the latter.

      Reply
      1. mihao

        Right, I see the social problem with Ruby. But if somebody takes your or my advice, and learns at least a few languages using different paradigms, he’s not going to fall into the trap of idealising Ruby as the solution to every possible problem.

        Let me just add that Ruby also feels more natural than Python as a scriping language. If you do anything related to programming, it’s always an advantage to be able to quickly write terse one-time scripts. Sometimes whole script in Ruby is shorter than just the import statements in Python, which are required even for very basic interface with the OS.

        But yeah, some more “serious” libraries, such as nltk, are available for Python and not for Ruby. On the other hand, I’m not quite sure why one would do things like NLP in Python/Ruby and not in some JVM language, for example.

        I definitely didn’t mean Scala should replace Haskell on your list. I agree Haskell is the best language for learning to program in a strongly-typed purely functional paradigm. I would just put Scala as a strong candidate in the “practical language that pays the bill” category.

        Reply

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