Discussion

@GeePawHill

- Logo
- GW Basic
- Pascal
- C
- VB 4/5/6
- Classic ASP
++ PHP
++ CSS (I love Front-end dev so this is my stand-in for that)
+ Ruby
+ Python
+ JavaScript

@GeePawHill -Commodore Basic
-c
-QuickBASIC
-Fortran
-PL/1
+IBM Assembler (first assembler of many)
-lisp
+COBOL
+Visual Basic
+ c#
-Java
+PHP (my least favorite)
+Python
+Javascript/Typescript
+Golang

Quite a few more in that path but I can’t remember them all.

@GeePawHill -BASIC, three kinds at about the same time: TRS80 Level I, BASIC/3000, HP2000 time-shared BASIC, was aware of other BASICs through listings in magazines
-Z80 assembler
++SPL/3000
+6502 assembler
-RPG
+Pascal (but not since 1988)
-Univac 1108 assembler
++C
-FORTRAN (long enough ago that it was all caps)
-COBOL
-80x86 (mostly 80386) assembler
-Java (ugh reminded me of Pascal)
-Perl 4
-ARM assembler
-Python (ugh reminded me of Pascal)
++Perl 5
+Objective-C
+#!/bin/sh (Almquist)

@GeePawHill
FORTRAN IV
COBOL
+PL/I
+System/360 assembler
-FORTRAN II (1800)
-1800 assembler
-LISP1.5
+Pascal
+Macro-10/Macro-20 assembler (DEC-20 etc)
MIT PDP-10 TECO
-MACLISP
-C
-Cshell
Scheme
Common Lisp
-Korn shell
-TeX
Perl 5

I still get paid for programming in Macro-20.

@GeePawHill
+ BASIC
- 6502 asm
+ Pascal
+ C
- real mode x86 asm :(
- ABEL
- PALASM
+ AWK
+ AHDL
- 68k asm (CPU32)
- PowerPC asm
+ C++
+ In house DSL
- VHDL
+ C/C++
+ Python
+ Verilog
+ HTML/CSS/Javascript :(
- TI 2812 asm :(
- MIPS32 asm

Unix shell scripting and DOS batch files scattered throughout, and I've researched a bunch of languages but haven't used 'em in anger to even warrant a '-'.

@GeePawHill
TRS-80 Basic
+TurboPascal ($$ first paid work)
+Z80 Assembly
-NS32000 Assembly
+C (ohh - the memory leaks)
-Modula2
-Concurrent Euclid
+C (again - Cross platform app Mac/Windows/Unix. We wrote cross platform and one of my colleagues built an early OO system)
+C++ (oh the pain that caused)
+Java
+C# (like Java but with some mistakes fixed)
+Java (returning to Java in 2007 to build an Eclipse Rich Client app felt like stepping back into the past)
….

@GeePawHill okay, let me try…

- Basic
- Pascal
- Perl
- Scheme / Lisp
- C
- C++
- C#
- PHP
- Java
- JavaScript
- Clojure
- Erlang
- Elixir
- Ruby
- Rust
- Python
- Bash (others have mentioned it too 😄)
- Vim ML (does that count? I wrote a refactoring extension for Ruby in it back in the day)
- io

And I’m forgetting some, I think. I wouldn’t know, would I? 😂

Also forgot the +- thingy 🙄

@GeePawHill
BASIC
Pascal
PERL
Cold Fusion
PHP
C++
JavaScript
Python
-TypeScript

Typescript is the only one I haven't put years into. I never got paid for my BASIC or Pascal. Cold Fusion is the only one I'd never go back to 😂

@GeePawHill
+ BASIC
+ Pascal
- Assembly
+ HyperTalk/Supertalk
- 4DL
- Lingo
+ Perl
+ SQL
+ PHP
- Bash
+ JavaScript
+ AppleScript
+ Objective C
+ ActionScript (2 & 3)
+ Ruby
+ Swift
- Python

I hope that’s it, I don’t think I have it in me to learn something new!

@GeePawHill

+Atari basic
-pascal
-c
+perl
-turing
-c++
+java
-vbscript
+javascript
+xslt
-python
-c#
+ruby
+clojure
-scala
-erlang
-elixir
-haskell
-idris
+go
+typescript
-rust
+gleam
+lua

@GeePawHill

For 40 years of programming (30 of them for money) this list is shockingly shallow

BASIC (Commodore and Apple) +

PHP (starting in 1998) +

JavaScript -

Python (lots during time at Mozilla and a little bit now) +

@GeePawHill I try and learn a new language every year even if I keep coming back to Ruby for day to day. Too many to list but I’ll hit the highlights of the ones I feel like have made me a better dev overall.

@GeePawHill
- BASIC
- pascal
- fortran
- (some assembly language but it's been 40 years and I don't remember what we were using — learned a bunch, though)
++ awk
++ C
++ C++
+ perl
++ java
+ C#
+ javascript
+ python

I might be missing a couple.

I still write the occasional python script. The latest was to add an image to the fore-edge (opposite the spine) of a book by printing a slice on the edge of each page of the pdf.

@GeePawHill As I can reconstruct it and not counting 'one course in university':

BASIC
+6502 assembler (I even got paid for some of it)
-Forth (I read a book or two)
C and 8086 assembler

Turning (UofT teaching language)
--Prolog (widened my mind in 1/3rd of a semester)
-Concurrent Euclid (UofT research language)
+C and 68K assembler

more or less at the same time:
+C (including lex and yacc; still do some)
+Unix shell scripting (continues)
(+?)Emacs Lisp

Perl
+Python
-SQL
(+?)Go
Emacs Lisp

@GeePawHill
+BASIC
-Fortran90
-Java
+C
+LaTeX
-C++
+Python

@GeePawHill
+ Perl
- Pascal
- Basic
+ bash/sh/awk/sed
- C
+ C++
+++ Java
- Matlab/Simulink
- JS
- Python
+++ Kotlin (currently paid for and preferred)

@GeePawHill
+BASIC
-TMS9900 assembler
-Forth
-Cobol
+Fortran
+C
-Perl
+C++
+Java
+python

@GeePawHill For work, I came up with the following list. I've also toyed briefly with some others, but not seriously enough to add them to the list.

Also, this list is not strictly chronological. There's too many loopbacks to do that.

8085
--Basic
microcode (in binary, running a custom processor)
6800 family (numerous variants)
Z80
8031
Pascal
X86
-68000 family
++C
-C++
IDL (Interactive Data Language)
-Shell (various)
Java
--Perl
-Javascript
-Ruby

@GeePawHill

- BASIC
- Pascal
- C / C++
+ dBase/ foxbase
+ Visual FoxPro, Visual Basic
++ C#
- Java
++ Ruby
++ JavaScript
++ HTML/Css
- Python
+ Go

I recently wrote a post about my career trajectory (https://hectorcorrea.com/blog/2026-01-12/career-in-software-development) and one of the things I highlighted for newcomers was the discrepancy in the tech stack at school vs tech stack at work and that in the long run it does not matter that much because our tech stack will eventually evolve no matter where we start.

@GeePawHill
++ BASIC (HP 2100 & Apple dialects)
+ Pascal
+ Custom BASIC/Pascal "blend")
++ C
-- RPG
+ C++
- COBOL (-- JCL/CICS)
- Prolog
++ Java (longest 'in anger')
+ Groovy
+ C#
- Powershell
- Scala
- Golang
- - Kotlin
+ Python
-- Bash
- JS (TS)

Those represent use within my work (though not always for end-product; and I've probably forgotten some). [I've a particular personal interest in languages, so I've also learned the basics of many others along the way.]

@GeePawHill

-BASIC (first programming experience, mostly graphics)
-Pascal (Turbo, educational at uni)
-C (fucking nightmare, memory overwrites all over the place)
++Java
+Visual Basic (and the whole COM+ shebang 😬 )
-Visual Foxpro 😬
++Python
+C# (hated the capitalised variables, and MS fucked up the OSS tooling in the early days)
++JavaScript/TypeScript
-C++ (wow, this language became modern 😳 )
++shell 🙈 (choose your shell, don't call it a script, it is code!)

played with Clojure

@GeePawHill

1/2
Started as scientist programmer, then paid developer/tech Architect and now UX Designer/Architect. I’ve always taken a “toolbox approach” to digital dev tools-
1. Know at least 2 tools that do the same job, pick your preferred & master it.
2. Check out new variants & update “toolbox” accordingly.
3. Regularly practice tasks, methods & techniques.
4. Regularly share, explain and teach tasks, methods & techniques.
5. Pick the right tool for the job, not default to your preferred.

@GeePawHill
+Basic (as teenager)
+Pascal (Turbo, even bought version 6 as a teenager)
-C
-x86 ASM (at one point, tried to implement "CLS" command or something)
+Java (since 1.0, at university and professional)
-C++ (thesis at university)
-Javascript (web stuff)
-Emacs lisp
-Clojure
-Scala (took 2 MOOCs)

I remember reading a book about OO programming in the 90s that was about message passing

@GeePawHill

- BASIC (games, fractal generator in high school)
+ C (1st year uni)
+ 8086 assembler (alt.comp.virus baby)
- Lisp
- 68000+ assembler
- C++
- Turing(!!)
+ Java
- Perl
+ C++
+ VisualBasic
+ Python
- JScript(!!)
+ PHP
+ Ruby
+ C++
- (proprietary "C"s and assemblers for various microcontrollers)
+ C# + VB.NET
+ JavaScript/TypeScript
- Objective-C
+ C++
- CLisp
- Rust
- Go
- Elixir

C++ has just been a constant throughout. I can't seem to escape it.

@GeePawHill

+ BASIC (on TOPS-20, Apple II, TRS-80, Microsoft, CBASIC, BASIC PLUS (PDP/11), Rexon & BASIC 4, Data Basic (on Pick), VBA, etm.)
+ COBOL ('68 & '85)
- PL/I
- RPG
- JCL
+ Assembly (6502, 8080, Z80, 8086, 68k, IBM 360)
+ dBASE
+ Transact SQL (Sybase/SQL Server)
+ PL/SQL (Oracle)
+ Pascal
+ FORTRAN
- Forth (& wanted more)
- Smalltalk
+ OWL (EDS R&D language more extreme than Smalltalk)
+ EDS R&D CASE tool graphical language
+ Java
+ Gosu (is like Java)
+ Guidewire Rate Routines
…

@GeePawHill
-BASIC
-PHP
+C++
-zOS assembly
-COBOL
-Java
+C#
+Java (starting here but never stopped)
+Js
-Groovy
-Scala
+Kotlin

@GeePawHill
- FORTRAN IV
+ BASIC
+ C
- PARADOX PAL
- Toolbook
+ VBA
- Perl
+ C++
- Python

@GeePawHill
applesoft BASIC
6502 assembly
z80 assembly
++pascal
++x86 assembly
-logo
visual BASIC
++c
++c++
sh/ksh/bash
--SQL
--SPARC assembly
ogl arb_program
++ogl GLSL
+nv Cg
-powerpc assembly
-lisp
-mips32 assembly
armv6 assembly
+armv7 assembly
-python
ocl c
-php
++armv8 assembly
cuda c++
--nv ptx
LLVM IR
obj-c
68000 assembly
thumb/t2 assembly
-metal c++
-perl
--zig

* The misc gpgpu c-likes, though employing shared c/c++ syntax, require a different SPMD mindset and come with their quirks.

@GeePawHill
Roughly, assume at best -+- throughout, order approximate

FORTRAN II (ca 1961)
IBM 704, 7090, 7094
-- APL
-- LISP
-- SLIP
-- IPL-V
--- Jovial
DEC PDP-1
SDS 940
PASCAL (dialect)
C, C++
BASIC
6502
Forth
XEROX SIGMA 7 / 9
Smalltalk
-- Self
Ruby
--- Haskell
--- Elixer
--- J (kind of like APL?)
Lua
Python
-- Kotlin
-- Java
--JavaScript
-- PERL

I don't claim to have ever been really good at any of them, but I might have been close sometimes.

@GeePawHill My list is a bit varied. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, and I’ve skipped those I’ve just toyed a bit with.

+C64 BASIC
-Amiga BASIC
+AMOS BASIC
+ARexx
-Amiga E
+Pascal
-PLC
++JavaScript
-C/C++
-Visual Basic
-Delphi
-Lisp
-Ada
+Java
++Perl
-Tcl
-VimScript
+VBScript
+SQL
++PHP
-BASH
-sed
-Prolog
-Datalog
-Lua
+Python
++Ruby
-Raku
-AppleScript
-Objective C
-C64 Assembly
-Clojure
+Rust

@GeePawHill -
-Fortran
+CDP1802 machine language
-Cobol
+Basic
+Z-80 assembler
-Lisp
+Forth
+C
+x86 assembler
-6502 assembler
+C++
+Lisp
-Java
-VB6
+Ruby
-Python
-Clojure

@GeePawHill BASIC
-FORTRAN
-Pascal
VAX assembly
--C
-6502 assembly
-LaTeX
-DCL
Visual BASIC
--awk
Perl 4
Perl 5
--tcl
sh/zsh
-expect
--Java
SQL
-Ruby
-C++
--Racket
--Lisp
++Fortran
gnuplot
sed
Python
R
--Rust
--Ada/SPARK.
--APL
--Z80 assembly
AutoIT

The only languages I learned in a formal academic setting were FORTRAN, Pascal, and VAX assembly. I have two degrees in nuclear engineering and none in computer science.

Of all those, Perl 5 and Modern Fortran are the least awful or at least where I felt most comfortable. I wouldn't choose Perl for a modern project. Too much I work on ought to be written in Modern Fortran instead of Python. APL is alternately genius and demented - fascinating language! I first encountered Javascript in 1997-8 in the 2.0 browser era - all I remember was it was hideous and broken and I disavow any knowledge of it (same for anything related to Oracle and RMAN). Lisp & Scheme elude me, SICM is impenetrable, dense, and unmemorable - none of it sticks. I have a wall of computer language texts - Prolog, COBOL, MUMPS, SNOBOL4, ALGOL, C++, D, Forth, Julia, Fortran texts spanning 60 years including F, along with fictional teaching languages like MIX and TYDAC. Occasionally I'll dig into an older language (I need to get back to Forth and dig more into 6502 assembly. Maybe add JOVIAL).

@GeePawHill +Basic (commodore style. Did a few larger projects - for the time anyway)
+ C (also with mid-sized projects, but forgot everything since)
- Pascal, Lisp, Modula, C++, ML at University
+ Smalltalk
+ Java
+ Groovy
- Clojure
- Haskell
+ JavaScript
- Typescript
+ Kotlin

@GeePawHill
- Basic (as a kid on VC20 and C64)
- Pascal (at school)
- Lisp (university time; loved it but didn't had the chance to program Lisp for money)
- Modula 2
+ Cobol (hated it; obvious after having seen the power of Lisp)
+ C++ (used it for years but never really got it)
+ Delphi
+ Java (loved it compared to Cobol and C++ but compared to Lisp it sucked)
+ JavaScript (mixed feelings)
- Ruby
- Python
- Clojure (loved the clean implementation of Lisp concepts)

@GeePawHill
++ Smalltalk
+ C
+ C++
- Lisp (CLOS)
+ ObjectiveC