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Programming Language Specialization Dilemma

aremstar writes "I'm a final-year Computer Science student from the UK. During my studies, we covered 3 programming languages: C, C++ and Java. The issue is that we didn't cover any of these languages in sufficient depth for me to claim that I have commercial-ready experience. It's one thing being able to write simple programs for class assignments, but those are quite different from writing something as complex as the Linux kernel or a multi-threaded banking app. I'm thinking of spending a few weeks/months studying in order to specialize in one of those languages. Fortran also entered my consideration, as it is great for numerical computing and used by many financial institutions, banks, etc. In terms of skill requirements in job ads, my (brief) experience suggests that most programming jobs require C++, with Java a close second. C — unfortunately — doesn't appear as much. My question is: if you were in my shoes, which language would win your time investment? My heart suggests C, with a little bit of Fortran to complement it, but I'm a bit worried that there might not be enough demand in the job market."

2 of 569 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Good News! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    We must remember that BSD is dying. It is just like the downfall of communism. It is a clear case of the theoreticians being out of step with free market reality.

    BSD commissars are always spouting some kind of socialist gobbledygook. The free market said "No! we don't want BSD!" "We don't want to give away our work with no recompense!"

    Take your BSD socialism and shove it up where the sun don't shine!!!

  2. ZARKING H***L by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    C, C++, Java --- hell of a range there. Now if you'd have come out with a range such as C, Java, Forth, Lisp, Haskell, ML, VHDL, Verilog, Assembly *then* you'd have some skills; but three very similar languages means either your course was crap or you ignored the really interesting bits.
    I bet you don't even understand the basics of OO nor the differences between how OO was implemented in C++ and Java and *why*. Hell, I bet you even think that you can't do OO in C and that Java can't do multiple inhertance.

    A COMPUTER SCIENCE course is designed to teach you how to THINK. You should have the skills to learn, apply your knowledge and put your hand to - theoretically - any programming job be it at kernel level, highlevel application programming, safety critical, web etc etc.

    If you expect a university course to teach you how to program then you're in the wrong buisness altogether!

    Yep...I'm in a bad mood, but when I see a post from someone complaining that their computer science course didn't teach them to program or even on that only concentrated on 3 similar langauges then I get mad.