Programming/Scripting language recommendations

[spowel4]

Hello all, I have the need (necessity) to begin learning a language, with the immediate goal of being able to work with text files and databases. I will need to be able to do things such as open the files/databases, read the data contained therein and most of the time make changes to the data.

I have some limited experience with Pascal in the late 80's, Motorola assembler in the early 90's, and most recently Visual Basic. I think I would like my approach to be a web-based interface for the end user, so first of all, do you think that is the best approach?

Of course the main question I have for you is which programming/scripting language do you recommend? It seems there are so many choices these days so I want some advice from the folks who have "been there, done that". Should I look at C, Ruby, Python or something else or am I totally out in left field?

Thanks for your advice!

[deathadder]

Recently I've had to start learning Python, I've found it to be a very easy language to pick up, it works with MySQL and you can use it for CGI stuff on the web. So that would be my personal recommendation for a scripting language to learn, mainly because it's not limited, if that's the right word, to the web like other languages like PHP, not that theres anything wrong with PHP.

A web interface to your database is a very easy way to get your users access to the database, you'll have to properly secure it of course.

[boxxertrumps]

Python can be used as a server interpretted language, can be compiles to a bytecode, ran as a shell script etc... Its a very powerfull language.
If your only looking for web based, look into PHP (http://php.net).

[Calipso]

Another vote for python. :)

[E1PHOTON]

Call me old fashioned, but I like Perl for Text and Database workings.

[JRefL5]

I have not yet tried Python, but I have done quite a bit of Perl scripting. I came from a Procedural/Functional programming (Cobol, Assemblers, C, Fortran) background so that is the way I coded. I had no problem picking up Perl, or using it as a database access tool as a data loader from various report formats, or to setup CGI scripts for web access.

[ghostdog74]

I have not yet tried Python, but I have done quite a bit of Perl scripting. I came from a Procedural/Functional programming (Cobol, Assemblers, C, Fortran) background so that is the way I coded. I had no problem picking up Perl, or using it as a database access tool as a data loader from various report formats, or to setup CGI scripts for web access.
I know Perl long before Python for doing sysadmin tasks and general programming, but after knowing Python, I converted all my scripts to Python and looked back. Now i have an easier time maintaining my scripts.

[JRefL5]

Maby it time I tried Python, any suggestions for good books?

[ghostdog74]

Maby it time I tried Python, any suggestions for good books?
you can head down to the official doc site (http://www.python.org/doc/). there's a tutorial there by the creator himself, as well as the docs on its libraries and other stuff. that's all you need. Have fun