"anonimous" <n.thomp / roadrunner.nf.net> wrote:
> I am now
> looking for one or two alternative programming languages to replace Java, I
> am mostly interested in C, C++, Ruby, Python and Perl. What I would like to
> know is which one would be better off in your opinion(s), one of the things
> I concider important in a programming language is weather or not its good
> enough to get me a job in programming.

Nobody mentioned Smalltalk, yet, so I'll do it. Smalltalk and Ruby are
programming languages that make programmers happy. Smalltalk has the
best debugging environment I've ever seen. If you want to write big
applications, Smalltalk should be in the list of languages to
consider.

But to be honest: Ruby might have a better future than Smalltalk.
Smalltalk had some image problems and might never recover. Ruby is
still gaining attraction and will hopefully outrun Perl in about 3-5
years.

There are still some Smalltalk applications to maintain but I'm not so
sure about Smalltalk or Ruby getting you a job now. From that point of
view I would encourage you to stay with Java but become expert in one
of the fields
- component technologies
- persistence middleware
- GUI programming
- UML, object oriented design

Lerning a second language will add to that, too. Of course you could
learn SOAP or the FOX GUI toolkit with ruby. Smalltalk is the language
of choice to learn OOP and design patterns. (Java doesn't teach you
OOP very well.)

Someone suggested C#; .NET isn't only C# and VB. You could also try
out .NET with Smallscript (S#, Smalltalk for .NET).

Don't try C++ or Perl if you are no masochist. I know what I'm talking
about, I use them both. (I have to admit that there are some
interesting ideas behind generic programming in C++ but I hate the
loss in productivity I notice with static typed languages.)

Have fun with ruby and have a look at http://www.whysmalltalk.com.

Cheers
Sascha