What Programming Languages

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

** Update: By ‘Knows’ I mean learned via formal training and/or used professionally. **

I have been posting some non- game-development specific questionslately, and today the trend continues.  I was answering some questions, when I started to think,

“Hmm… I wonder how many languages the average user here knows?”  

By languages, I mean programming languages.

This is purely a curiosity thing.  So, if you’re comfortable, please list the programming languages that you have learned in school, via job training, and/or used professionally.  

Also, mark favorite language(s) in  bold.

This is my list (Warning: I’m an old guy who has been programming for many years in various jobs):

Ada, ALGOL, Assembly, AWK, Bash, BASIC , Boo, C , C++ , C#, C Shell, COBOL, dBase, Delphi, Fortran, IBM Assembly, Java, JavaScript, ksh, List, Lua , LPC , make, MATLAB, NASM, Objective-C, Pascal, Perl, PHP, Prolog, Python, QuakeC, Sed, Smalltalk, SNOBOL, SystemVerilog, Tcl, Turbo C++ (yes I liked it even if others hated it), Verilog, VHDL, Visual Basic. 

I used this list as a reference and just went alphabetically.  (There are definitely missing languages and some are ‘barely’ languages…)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programming_languages

#2

Well my list is rather long:

Assembly (DEC-10, PDP-11, VAX-11, IBM-370, Z80, 8080, 8086, 68000), Algol, SAIL, FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal, PL-I/PL-C, COBOL, Bliss, Logo, SAS, SPSS, JCL,  and more scripting languages than I can count.  Then came C.  This pretty much flushed all languages from my head.  After that, it was easy to pick up Java, JavaScript, PHP, Actionscript, etc.  Today, I just pretty much do Lua.  My C base  keeps me strong enough to do PHP, C#, ObjC, C++ and so on.  And of course I have to add HTML and CSS into the mix.  I’ve also have to throw Perl in there too.

Rob

#3

I suspected you too had a strong programming background.  Interestingly you and I overlap a bit on the assembly coding.  

Were you by any chance in the Military?  

I got all my (what some consider) ‘weird’ language experience in the Air Force.  i.e. Ada, Algol, and assembly on DEC, PDP, VAX,  and IBM machines.

#4

Naw, I started out at the University of Kentucky (an IBM shop where most of our classes were) but we had access to the University of Louisville’s DEC-10.  I helped a friend type the old Star Trek game into his TRS-80 and he introduced me to playing computer games there and through DECWar on the DEC-10.   I wanted to learn more about programming and taught myself BASIC on the DEC-10 and I wanted to do system level things and taught myself Assembly.  From there I changed my major from Electrical Engineering to Computer Science.  Then through classes, came PL-C/PL-I, IBM 370 Assembly and FORTRAN.  I was then messing around with Algol, SAIL (and I forgot SNOBOL) in my spare time.  I had to run from Calculus and changed schools.  The new school was using Pascal as the main teaching language in a PDP-11 and then VAX-11 systems.  I kept picking up various languages and running from Calculus, so I ended up in the Business school which brought in COBOL and such. 

My first job out of college was at a University installing their VAX/VMS system, so I got a wide range of languages there.

Rob

#5

This could be a rather different list, depending on whether “knows” means “can read most code in that language” or the more strict “can write decent code in that language”. And also, whether that knowledge entails keeping abreast of language updates.

In terms of sheer amount of code I’m probably at 50-60% Lua (some of that is LuaJIT , which has the FFI that makes it a bit of a different animal), 30-40% whatever flavor of C (89?) Visual Studio supports and C++ (sans the additions of these last few years), and then the rest a lot of C# and HLSL. I’ve learned some SQL to use in Corona, and have recently been getting up to speed in GLSL on account of it, too. I was on a QBasic kick for a while. I once did homework in ActionScript, and have done some little web games and Node scripts in Javascript. I dabbled in Java for Android, a few years ago. I can slog my way through Objective C, though that’s less on account of the syntax than that the feature set didn’t really click with me. I’ve done some toy programs in x86 and Motorola assemblers, and a little Game Boy Color side-scroller in z80.

When I learn languages and their standard libraries, or SDKs, and so on, I tend to read the docs and maybe a book, all in one go, before I ever touch a line of code. This often means I never write a line of code, of course.  :slight_smile: But there’s a bunch of languages where I can pretty much read the code fluently, with the proviso that I’d trip up writing it. Common Lisp and Scheme would be the big ones here, as well as D, Erlang, and Prolog. I can read some Go and Haskell but have forgotten enough to warrant some review. Nim is one which I checked out a couple years back (when it went by Nimrod) and actually intended to give a try at some point. All the linear algebra texts seem to like Matlab, so I’ve gotten quite a lot of that.

I keep meaning to read up on Forth and Icon and then always end up forgetting about them again. I want to learn an ML at some point, too. Also maybe something like Brook, for GPGPU development.

#6

Ah, but I was more specific than knows… :slight_smile:

…  list the programming languages that you have learned in school, via job training, and/or used professionally …

#7

I should also note.  

Just because you list a language, doesn’t mean you have to be able to use it any longer.  

I don’t expect that anyone can retain proficiency in more than about 10 languages at any one time.  Its an odd job that requires that many different languages be used together.

I know for myself, I’d need a refresher on most of the languages I listed to start using them professionally again. 

#8

Turbo C++ was one of my favorite C compilers.  I probably had an affinity for it because of Turbo Pascal (which eventually turned into Delphi). 

#9

I’ve been programming since the mid 1970s (yes, I’m old, but totally young at heart), so here is my list.

Basic, PDPBasic, VAXBasic, C, C++, C# , Lua , Pascal, ObjectPascal, COBOL, ASM, ASP, Fortran, Visual Basic , VB.NET, Java, Javascript, Delphi, JCL, VBScript.

I am sure I am missing a few… 

Going down memory lane for a bit…

  • I learned so many different BASICs on the 8bits, but lumped it into a single entry.
  • The move from procedural to Object Oriented programming was the coolest, but I hated C++, and still do.  Love C#.
  • Using Lua is quite fun.
  • I always loved learning new languages, and some times had to for work (back when I was a professional developer).  Lately, I find I stick with Lua and C#.

–john

#10

@RoamingGamer this is off topic but I need help putting my app into release mode

#11

I loved Turbo C and Turbo C++!  

I can’t remember now, but one or both allowed you to run a program, stop it, and then step backwards through execution, essentially rewinding time.  Back when CPUs were simple enough for that to be possible.

-Ed

#12

@keelanbrison, please create a new thread to ask your question.  Forum rules do not allow thread hijacking.

Thank you

Rob

#13

Oh didnt know that, sorry @Rob Miracle

#14

Here is my list ; started with Assembly (6502, 68000 series, DSP:56001, 80286). Of course Basic ;), then C, lot of C and C++  a little bit of Pascal, C# and LUA. (I know other languages, but not enough to be fast and efficient with them)

I did enjoy a lot working with 68000 series as understanding the compiler and mixing it with assembly was giving us incredible result in term of speed and performance.

Nick

#15

Well my list is rather long:

Assembly (DEC-10, PDP-11, VAX-11, IBM-370, Z80, 8080, 8086, 68000), Algol, SAIL, FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal, PL-I/PL-C, COBOL, Bliss, Logo, SAS, SPSS, JCL,  and more scripting languages than I can count.  Then came C.  This pretty much flushed all languages from my head.  After that, it was easy to pick up Java, JavaScript, PHP, Actionscript, etc.  Today, I just pretty much do Lua.  My C base  keeps me strong enough to do PHP, C#, ObjC, C++ and so on.  And of course I have to add HTML and CSS into the mix.  I’ve also have to throw Perl in there too.

Rob

#16

I suspected you too had a strong programming background.  Interestingly you and I overlap a bit on the assembly coding.  

Were you by any chance in the Military?  

I got all my (what some consider) ‘weird’ language experience in the Air Force.  i.e. Ada, Algol, and assembly on DEC, PDP, VAX,  and IBM machines.

#17

Naw, I started out at the University of Kentucky (an IBM shop where most of our classes were) but we had access to the University of Louisville’s DEC-10.  I helped a friend type the old Star Trek game into his TRS-80 and he introduced me to playing computer games there and through DECWar on the DEC-10.   I wanted to learn more about programming and taught myself BASIC on the DEC-10 and I wanted to do system level things and taught myself Assembly.  From there I changed my major from Electrical Engineering to Computer Science.  Then through classes, came PL-C/PL-I, IBM 370 Assembly and FORTRAN.  I was then messing around with Algol, SAIL (and I forgot SNOBOL) in my spare time.  I had to run from Calculus and changed schools.  The new school was using Pascal as the main teaching language in a PDP-11 and then VAX-11 systems.  I kept picking up various languages and running from Calculus, so I ended up in the Business school which brought in COBOL and such. 

My first job out of college was at a University installing their VAX/VMS system, so I got a wide range of languages there.

Rob

#18

This could be a rather different list, depending on whether “knows” means “can read most code in that language” or the more strict “can write decent code in that language”. And also, whether that knowledge entails keeping abreast of language updates.

In terms of sheer amount of code I’m probably at 50-60% Lua (some of that is LuaJIT , which has the FFI that makes it a bit of a different animal), 30-40% whatever flavor of C (89?) Visual Studio supports and C++ (sans the additions of these last few years), and then the rest a lot of C# and HLSL. I’ve learned some SQL to use in Corona, and have recently been getting up to speed in GLSL on account of it, too. I was on a QBasic kick for a while. I once did homework in ActionScript, and have done some little web games and Node scripts in Javascript. I dabbled in Java for Android, a few years ago. I can slog my way through Objective C, though that’s less on account of the syntax than that the feature set didn’t really click with me. I’ve done some toy programs in x86 and Motorola assemblers, and a little Game Boy Color side-scroller in z80.

When I learn languages and their standard libraries, or SDKs, and so on, I tend to read the docs and maybe a book, all in one go, before I ever touch a line of code. This often means I never write a line of code, of course.  :slight_smile: But there’s a bunch of languages where I can pretty much read the code fluently, with the proviso that I’d trip up writing it. Common Lisp and Scheme would be the big ones here, as well as D, Erlang, and Prolog. I can read some Go and Haskell but have forgotten enough to warrant some review. Nim is one which I checked out a couple years back (when it went by Nimrod) and actually intended to give a try at some point. All the linear algebra texts seem to like Matlab, so I’ve gotten quite a lot of that.

I keep meaning to read up on Forth and Icon and then always end up forgetting about them again. I want to learn an ML at some point, too. Also maybe something like Brook, for GPGPU development.

#19

Ah, but I was more specific than knows… :slight_smile:

…  list the programming languages that you have learned in school, via job training, and/or used professionally …

#20

I should also note.  

Just because you list a language, doesn’t mean you have to be able to use it any longer.  

I don’t expect that anyone can retain proficiency in more than about 10 languages at any one time.  Its an odd job that requires that many different languages be used together.

I know for myself, I’d need a refresher on most of the languages I listed to start using them professionally again.