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Not to start any flame wars, I'll have to agree with Rosalyn on Python. My favorite, one reason is the syntax requires readablity, for instance, indention is part of the syntax. And, I am running Zope/Plone servers (since 1992) which are written in C and python, and python scripting integrates really well by design. By the way, you will see a lot of Python at Google, talking with some of their employees there is a lot of programming done in Python for internal and public use for years. I think the book Dive Into Python is available free in electronic format and is highly rated. But my conviction has always been, use a language you like because the same result can be obtained from the languages you mentioned and others. The good thing is, there are is a lot experience now in these different languages in libraries. Test the waters, and which ever you choose you may want to first checkout: http://showmedo.com It started out as just a Python tutorial site but has grown. From their WEB page: "Showmedo is a peer-produced video-tutorials and screencasts site for free and open-source software - with the exception of some club videos, the large majority are free to watch and download. Follow our progress building the site with Python, Javascript, Jquery, CSS, HTML, Flash, etc.., plus open-source news, advocacy and just plain interesting stuff in the FOSS world:" Beginner Programming 241 videos Python 529 videos Ruby 68 videos Java 39 videos Perl 6 videos Javascript 22 videos C 29 videos Django 61 videos Rubyonrails 39 videos Turbogears 23 videos Firefox 16 videos Eclipse 19 videos Vim 11 videos Gimp 45 videos Inkscape 21 videos Blender 51 videos Linux 189 videos Openoffice 117 videos Ubuntu 93 videos Scribus 31 videos Wxpython 76 videos Pygame 12 videos Pyopengl 32 videos Ipython 48 videos Wingware 34 videos Similar to Ethan's suggestion, are there certain projects that interest you already, then what language do they use, Koha, Evergreen, etc..? And to be on the cutting edge (maybe), you might want to look at Go. "No major systems language has emerged in over a decade, but over that time the computing landscape has changed tremendously ... The Go project was conceived to make it easier to write the kind of server and other software Google uses internally ... " See : http://golang.org/doc/go_faq.html From what I've read about Go Programming Language, this would be a perfect candidate for a robust ILS to be written in. I think this and languages like this may end up requiring the need for even faster bus speeds and faster networking. Thomas On Wednesday 24 March 2010 15:24:55 you wrote: > A newly-minted library school grad who has up to this point focused my > studies on Rare Books and Book Arts, I've been interested in getting > back into some programming--I took two classes in college > (VisualBASIC), have a smattering of web design and php, MySQL, > exposure, but I'd like to try my hand at teaching myself a language in > my free time. My partner is a former dotcom programmer (now studying > neuroscience) and has offered to assist when needed, so I'm not > completely on my own (thank goodness). > > My question is, where would you recommend I would begin? What's hot > right now in the library world? Python, PERL, Ruby? Any advice you'd > have for a beginner like me or even recommendations for online courses > would be extremely appreciated > > JC > -- ========================================== Thomas McMillan Grant Bennett Appalachian State University Operations & Systems Analyst P O Box 32026 University Library Boone, North Carolina 28608 (828) 262 6587 Library Systems Help Desk: https://www.library.appstate.edu/help/ ==========================================