ReggaetonKing

What language you think would will be around for a very long time? I want to use Java as my main language but some people tell me there is no future in it and only C++. Hook me up w. sum comments people! I need em!

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zorin

The majority of programming jobs I have seen are for C++ wich at the moment has the highist amount of jobs in the UK and have quite a good salary. But there is definetly a furure in java, its already taking off big now. Some members of my family have been sent on java courses in the past year by there employers so thats saying somthing.

jayme

If you only plan on making smaller projects, go with java because it would probably easier, especially for gui's. If you plan on making big projects, use C++(or something equvilant). Java code is interpereted through sun i think it's called, then sun converts it to machine code so you will get slower programs than if you use C++, converting it directly to machine code. As for how long the languages will be around for, i'm not too sure about java, but they have or will be implementing 4000 new winapi's into the new "vista".. leaving win32 api with around 16 more years of life before it's done with. I also just like C++ more so of course i'm going to tell you to go with it..

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Infinite Recursion

C, C++, C#, Java, and Python will be around to stay for quite some time.

A good indication of what languages will be used in the future are the languages that we use now. All of the code we write today, in what ever language, must be supported and maintained in the future. Usually it is too costly to rewrite code in another language.

When I came out of college, a lot of my work was maintaining old C and ADA code. Since then, I have written mostly C++ and C#.

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Nebula

If your heart is set on Java, then i suggest sticking with it. It is a hard language to code in and for many other aspects, i'm not quote sure. Java will be around for a while, for one, Sun is so huge that it would take a miracle to get one of their biggest accomplishments off the market. Two, Java is very similar to C and C++, and if C and C++ are going to be around for a while, then Java will to for its similarity. Three, It is a good language and their are many Java coders around the world using it.

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Arevos

It doesn't matter.

Java is popular now, and it'll be some years before it starts to wane, by which time you'll have learnt another language. Computer languages should not be thought of as a long term investment, because unless you plan for a career in maintaining legacy code, times change too fast.

That said, you can probably count of Java being around for a good three or four years at least.

A quick search on Google shows you how sought after Java is, currently:

Java employment: 12,600,000 hits
C++ employment: 1,660,000 hits
Python employment: 1,040,000 hits
C# employment: 834,000 hits

Ideally, you should aim to learn at least one new language per year

Lich

People question the future of java because of it's speed and how SUN controls it. A lot of people don't like SUN, don't like the way they do things, and hence, do not like Java. C++ is the programming language and a lot of people won't even consider you a programmer unless you know it. You're starting early out in your programming. You'll eventually see how easy it will be to pick up other languages. Java has a great future, if maybe not in desktop apps then mobile apps and such as well we web development. I don't see it going anywhere. C++ has been around for what, 20 years now? And C for almost 40. Languages don't change much (unless you're visual basic). Java is fine to have as your primary, but be prepared to tackle some Python, C++, C#, etc down the road.
That's a great goal right there

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Darkhack

Assembly - If you work for Intel or AMD you might actually get to use this, but in most jobs you won't. It will always be around, just not very common.

C - Any low level system stuff and especially OS/Kernel programming is going to be using C. Mostly used by Bigger companies such as Microsoft, IBM, ect...

C++ - The most popular language used by small/medium/large business alike. Used for gaming and for general purpose applications. I would recommend learning it.

C# - My personal favorite. Its a growing langauge and I predict it will one day outshine Java. C# 3.0 will be coming out and when it does I think companies will take a longer look at C# if they've even considered change in the past.

Java - I am a little nervous as I type this but I honestly think Java won't last in the future. I think it is the 90s/2000s versions of COBOL and will be doomed. Now before I get flamed I want to say that my best friend who is primarily a Flash guy is a Java programmer after his Flash work and says he loves everybit of it and I wouldnt doubt him on it. Java isn't a bad language but there are alternatives that seem to be doing better in Java at the points where it counts.

Python - Hasn't really hit mainstream but it seems to be popular in niche markets. I havnt worked with it and know very little about it overall, but I do see a future in small scale applications.

Flash/Actionscript - Not really programming (it kinda is) but it has its place in web development. Not a lot of jobs for it, but it will be around for a while.

XML - It's already booming everywhere. It's here to stay.

SQL - Unless something better comes along, having knowledge of SQL and Database applications is always useful.

ASP.NET - I'm iffy on this one. I know very little about it and it seems PHP is the more popular scripting language of this kind.

PHP - A lot of criticism has come over PHP for its design and syntax and features. Not a lot of people like the way PHP does things. PHP is a language I know very well and it's used in a lot of places. I think something will replace it however. Either that or PHP will need to reinvent itself beyond PHP5.

ReggaetonKing

Well, I've been learning Java for 3 months now and I can create small programs. I am really trying to get into some GUIs with some AWT & Swing. I know how to make pop-up boxes, input boxes, alerts, labels and textfields. Before I decided to learn Java, I was deciding on between the languages; "C++, Python, ASP.NET, or Java" and because I have experience making websites. I went with Java to make applets. But I went on and on and started to love the language. I picked up many tutorial and reference books on Java. I think Java 2 for Dummies was great. 3 months ago I couldnt tell you what a compiler was and a GUI and all the other terminology but now its like as if it was part of my vocabulary!! Programming is awesome!!

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Nebula

Did you ask anybody if Java was good to learn first before gonig ahead with it? Why didn't you learn C++ or Python? Much easier languages to learn.

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