What programming language should all programmers know?

tpbdude: What programming language should all programmers know?
I getting good at programming and I want to know which programming language should everyone going into the field of software engineering/programming know?

All answers are greatly appreciated!

Answers and Views:

Answer by no1home2day
It doesn’t work that way. That would be like asking, “What is the one tool that all construction workers should have in a tool belt?”

You need them all. There isn’t just “one size fits all”.

There’s an old saying, that “if all you have is a hammer, after awhile, everything begins to look like nails.”

The programming task at hand should determine which language to use.

Answer by Melvin
Most programming languages are developed from C. So, if you master C, chances are, it would be very easy for you to learn new languages.

Answer by ShoCKER
Well, C/C++ is the best in my opinion. Very flexible, very easy, very complex.

Answer by Toby
It’s largely a matter of opinion. I think the best “fat” software (software that you install on your computer) is written in C and C++; however, I always prefer web-enabled apps wherever possible. Why? Because it doesn’t matter if you’re running Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, Solaris, Amega or whatever. If you have a web browser, then you can use the software. For web programming, I prefer PHP over ASP.NET because PHP will run on Windows Servers, Mac Servers, Linux servers, etc… It will run on IIS, Apache, Nginx, Lighttp. ASP.NET only runs on Windows servers, and only with IIS.

Answer by Kelly L
There is no one programming language that all programmers should know. Many programmers specialize in one or more programming languages of different variations.

According to langpop
Java is the most popular. C, C++, PHP, and Javascript being the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th most popular respectively.

Answer by Bill M
Assembler, so you know how the computer really works.

Answer by Ziad s
really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Here is a nice place to learn about different languages: www.google.ca .

Answer by JoelKatz
Ironically, the best answer to this question is assembly language. It’s vital for a programmer to understand what he’s making the hardware do, and understanding assembly is one of the best ways to do that.

However, if you mean a language that programmer might actually use, then probably the best answer is C++. But C or Java would be good answers too. However, you can be a top notch PHP programmer and not know C, C++, or Java. There’s nothing really wrong with that.

Answer by Cubbi
Donald Knuth’s MIX assembly language. Because what kind of a programmer you are if you haven’t read The Art of Computer Programming?

Answer by Rick P
Based on a friend of mine that recruits for large tech companies…

Right now most jobs are coming in for C# and Java. Never hurts to know C++ just for the base level knowledge that gives you.

If you are looking for a job in the defense companies then you are going to have to learn a whole lot of older languages as well since most of the work is converting old programs in ADA, Cobol, etc. to newer languages.

Learn the basic skills of a programmer and you can pick up specific languages as needed.

Answer by tbshmkr
Advice from an Interviewer
=
How to become a good programmer
– https://kaisar-haque.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-become-good-programmer.html
–
“Start with C++ or Java. If you want to me to be specific, start with C++, you’ll love it for the rest of your life.. :)”
–
“If you want to be good programmer, keep on coding at least 20 hours a week for next 4 years :).”

Answer by The Truth
I don’t think there is any specific programming language that a programmer must know. However, I do think it is good to be well rounded and get exposure to different types of programming languages and methodologies.

In my opinion this would include, but not be limited to:

A standard mainstream static typed language like Java or C#. These are the most prevalent, and if you are looking for work, lots of jobs are offered in these two languages.

A declarative language like SQL and its variants. It is just a good idea to have working knowledge of operating with databases.

Any modern web framework as well as good knowledge in Javascript and HTML.

A functional programming language like Haskell, Scala, or Clojure. Although these are not used as often in industry, they may be used increasingly so as people learn how to leverage all the new multi-core processors that are being released.

A lower level language like C. While you could probably avoid writing anything in a lower level language as a career programmer today, I think having exposure to this would be good as a “know your roots” type language.