Learning Java or C# as a Next Language?

AlexDV asks: "I'm currently a second-term, CIS major at DeVry University. This coming term, I will have the choice of studying either Java or C# for my Object Oriented Programming class. Now I'm a diehard Linux user, so I'm slightly conflicted here. Which should I take?" "I know C#.NET is primarily a Microsoft language, but, with Mono gaining momentum, it could very well become a major development platform for Linux as well. Novell has really been pushing it lately, and there seems to be a lot of very cool Linux apps being developed with it.

Java, on the other hand, is inherently more Linux-friendly due to its intentional cross-platform nature, but at the same time it doesn't really seem to be inspiring the same kind of developer enthusiasm as Mono. However, it's clearly not an insignificant OSS development language, with the recent news that Java has surpassed C++ as the #1 language for SourceForge projects.

Anyway, I though I'd toss that out there and get some opinions from other Slashdot readers. Any thoughts, advice, and/or rants are appreciated :)"

Comments

Re:Just Pick One and Learn it Well

[fzammett]

ctrl-space is NOT learning the class libraries. It is using the crutch that Eclipse (or any IDE for that matter) is.

There is nothing worse than a programmer who can only use an IDE. I always recommend people use a straigh text editor to learn. Yes, it'll be tougher going, but what you get at the end is someone that actually UNDERSTANDS what they are doing. At *that* point it's OK to move to an IDE because then it becomes what it should be: a tool.

I personally do all my work in UltraEdit, and am *more* effective than many of the developers I know. That partially has to do with the fact that I type damned fast :) But moreso it's because I don't have to get out of the flow of what I'm doing to run through some wizard who's output code I'm going to have to massage anyway.

Oh yeah, and for the actual question of the thread: I'd lean towards Java, but I don't think it matters a whole lot, they are close enough that the basic concepts will get learned, as long as the IDE isn't doing all the heavy lifting for you!