programming-for-dummies

Comparing Programming Languages 81
Comparing Programming Languages
With so many different programming languages available, the real question
isn’t “Which programming language should I study and use?” Instead, the
real question you should ask is “How can I become a better programmer and
choose the best language for solving a particular problem?”
Programming languages just offer different ways to express your ideas, and
depending on what you need to accomplish, sometimes a language like C++
is best and sometimes another language like LISP might be better. The goal is
to choose the best language for the job.
Book I
Chapter 3
Types of
Programming
Languages
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know and master every programming language,
so it’s usually best to focus on mastering two or three languages
instead. The more you know about using a particular language, the faster
and more efficient you can write programs in that language.
A mediocre programmer using a programming language designed for a particular
job is likely more efficient than an expert programmer using an inappropriate
language for that same job. Assembly language might create the fastest and
most efficient programs, but if you need to write a program quickly and you
don’t care about efficiency, a scripting language like Perl might be much easier
and faster. Sometimes, a program that gets the job done now is preferable to a
program that works ten times as fast but takes a million times longer to write.