Challenge Statement

I've never been one for learning new languages. Sure, I talk about it loads and dabble a bit, but when it comes to solving a real problem, I always turn to whatever I'm most familiar with. For the last 11 years, that has been Java. Before that it was different versions of BASIC.

So, I'm setting myself a challenge and I'm inviting you to join me. I've picked a bunch of languages and I'm going to learn them all. To begin with I'm going to do some simple programming 101 tutorials , completing each exercise in all of the languages. Maybe I won't master them but I'll surely become a jack of all trades.

Here are my language choices. If you are joining me in the challenge you can either use these or choose your own.

Ruby
I've fancied learning this for a while. Something about the syntax appeals to me. I've dabbled a bit but never really got my teeth in.

Python
Seems like a really good language for writing quick scripts. It's also widely used in bioinformatics which is my chosen field.

Haskell
Other languages here incorporate the functional paradigm, but if I write a Haskell solution I know it's functional. I've dabbled here before and given up at least twice.

Erlang
I hear this makes concurrent programming a doddle, even with its awkward syntax.

C
Always wanted to learn it. With most of these languages fully embracing OO, this will force me to write procedural code too.

C#
Might as well make myself more employable while I'm here!

JavaScript
I last played with this in 2000 but browser incompatibilities put me off. I hear it has come a long way since then.

BASH
I've used it when necessary before, but never often enough to get familiar with it.

Smalltalk
I hear good things about this one from the OO world.

There are others that I would like to add to the list but I've got to draw a line somewhere. One of the outcomes I'm hoping for is that I'll begin to see which languages give better solutions for various problems.

Thanks for reading. What do you think? Planning on joining me?

12 October 2011