I've been writing python for a living for a year now, and have finally grown sufficiently accustomed to using it that its inconvenience relative to perl no longer irritates me. Don't learn perl -- it will spoil you forever, with its plethora of built-in functions, its convenient syntax, and the hundred-thousand CPAN modules which already solve most of the hard problems for you.

Python is the second-best language for high-level programming, and it's on its way up, whereas demand and popularity of perl is in decline. So, learn python.

I was thinking C and Python at first. But now I am moving towards Lisp and Python. You can use lisp for lower level programming as well if I am not mistaken. Regardless I have been very attracted to Lisp from reading about it. It also adds macros.
Thanks for the links.

thanks,
I was never attracted to perl even the new perl 6.
2nd best? how so?

no one so far mentioned ruby, so I do it.
take ruby.
and sooner or later you should also invest several years into C++

Because the OP has explicitly requested for suggestions on Python and LISP only, not everybody's personal favorites!

Regards.

Thank you.

Low-level usually means close to the iron. LISP is as far from the iron as it gets, pretty much. Python and anything else with fancy data types and garbage collection also fails to qualify. With C, an experienced hacker looks at the code and sees assembly. That's low-level.

Thanks, yes key word abstraction.

I started learning lisp (kinda) with emacs.

hmm elvis using emacs? :D

haha, you're not the first one that tell me this joke ! :D
I never got used to the modal mode of vi. Emacs keybindings feel so much more natural.

I am very undecided on editors. both of the editors are quite ancient. Not saying they are bad. I guess in time I will choose my right editor but first I need to learn to write code.

I don't even know if its worth to go to college or study myself. We will see.

But as far as 1st Language Lisp Scheme seems the best to start for me. Its harder then Python but as dugan and a few others said it will give me a solid foundation to work with and that is priceless.

(bold added)

You have GOT to kidding me. (Add colorful profanity as needed)

Perl (which I am having to learn now because of The Day Job) is the most outdated pile of cr*p that I've had to deal with in a long, long time.

Sure, there's a lot of stuff out there because Perl is ancient. But bolted-on OO syntax? Can't run a one-liner to interactively see what happens? 6 or 7 or 8 "standard" ways to do X? The "Oh this is a reference to something instead of the thing itself. BTW, the syntax to use it is different if I gave you reference." hogwash?

Spare me.

Lisp is not Scheme. Scheme is not Lisp. Do not confuse the two.

Isn't Scheme a dialect of Lisp? And +1 on Perl. Except you can run a one-liner. You have to use 'perl -e'.

Alex Brinister