Quote: (10-22-2013 10:05 AM)worldwidetraveler Wrote:
Quote: (10-21-2013 11:50 PM)paninaro Wrote:
Quote: (10-21-2013 10:57 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:
Problem with computer languages is they keep changing, and as you get older it gets harder and harder to learn new languages. As well as the age bias against you when they company president is 26 and you are 38.
Sort of. Any decent programmer who knows at least one object oriented, functional, and procedural programming language can easily pick up a new language. It's just a matter of figuring out the syntax and any quirks -- the concepts are the same. Every programming language used today falls into one of those 3 types.
Kind of like learning one romance language if you already know another. The general structure and grammar is the same, so you just need to pick up the vocab and any quirks (typically with irregular verbs).
I do agree about age bias, though most people 30+ in the software industry have been promoted to managers of the department by that point.
I keep trying to tell people this when they talk about learning php.
Understanding concepts like object oriented programming is more important. After that, you just learn language syntax and whatever framework they are using.
PHP A fractal of Bad Design
The only reason to learn PHP is if you really want to go wade into someone else's mess and help clean it up. That can be valuable, for sure. But it seems less likely to put you on a good path to grow and advance your skills.