I seek for a scripting language which is quick to learn, yet powerful. Which scripting language available under linux (perl, python, etc.) is the most polyvalent, has a great potential and has most chances to be used for a long time in the community???
I have a good base in C and C++, but it's complexity and syntax made me want to learn something else...

Perl is a good standby, though if complexity and syntax are not your thing, Perl might be tough. PHP seems to be going places. And if you want a good general-purpose scripting language for Linux tasks, the bash or csh shell scripting languages can't be beat. But it all sort of depends on what you want to use it for.

Man,

I just learned Python and I can say that it ROCKS!! If u need a powerfull language and easy to learn, this is the one!! And its more than just a scripting language, its a lot more. Bit Torrent is built in Python, for example. =)


[]'s
TiGOD.

perl is useful and fun, as is python. shell scripting _YOU_MUST_KNOW_ if you run a *nix computer imho. php is a web scripting language and has nothing to do with linux; if you're not into webdev i see no reason to learn it.
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/

I'd recommed Python, but just to add a bit of diversity, Lua (http://www.lua.org) is also a very nice and simple language.

Alex

Perl rules. Even though you may not like comlpexity, Perl has something for everyone.

I just learned perl myself and if you know C and C++, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Learning Python is a cinch ; I did it in an afternoon. I've been hooked to it since then. I'm less fond of Perl, but its user base is larger by an order of magnitude, so support is easier to find.

My advice : learn both.

Python is the best language ever, so learn it But I also agree with one of the above posters in that you should learn basic shell scripting if you are going to become seriously powerful on a *nix box. Python is great for anything ranging from automating simple tasks to building full-fledged applications, but for very quick hacks, shell scripting is often more useful (so is perl, but I hate perl and don't recommend that anyone ever learn it for fear of them learning some of the awful habits perl coders often acquire)

python all the way! it is easy for simple suff but a few things that might throw you for a loop

EVERYTHING is a object... now this is a brod statemt but true. i dont mean everything you make ... i mean everything. including the deffination for a class

spacing is nessary ... the tab's are required to code there are no brackets.

learn about the cool new varables like tuples and dictnary's


of corse you could get info on it at www.python.org

but my fave is http://diveintopython.org/ but this is not for 's ... at least the one i got ((was a while back)) it is a good intresting read **as far as how to's go

depends on your preferences....
maybe PHP....which....by the way is _not_ only a server side scripting language (with the CLI you can also write shell scripts) ...
it's very easy to learn, easy read, dealing with complex data structures is as easy as can be, you can write almost pure OOP code...
IMHO it's the best choice to start with since it is very similar to C, regarding syntax and style...and if your planning on someday switching to c/c++ you won't have much troubles understanding =)

or you could start with something really weird but more powerfull than any other scripting language....Perl ^^ but I guess it's not a good choice to start with since your brain will get poisoned by the syntax that can sometimes only be described as magic *g*

bash is VERY important if you plan to stay with linux...but maybe not the best choice to start with since (I'll just keep my opinion, I dont wanna get flamed with a hundred posts ^^)

are you planning to start real programming ? start with C++ or Java...from the beginning...

I have taken a look at phyton...
but IMHO it looks too much like basic....I've started 10 years ago with basic/asm on a C64...and all those memories came back and I instantly closed my browser and decided never to visit that site again *gg* take the word of somebody else regarding phython...

greets =)

In my own opinion:

Take a look at both PHP and Python. If you're looking for speed/efficiency, you'll want to use PHP (I've benchmarked it running 50% faster than Python).

If you want quick/powerful, both are adequate. It's possible to even combine the two.