Pre-Beginner

[Matt_T_hat]

I'm toying with the idea of learning something with better DOM and XML support than php that can be used in a web environment but not exclusivly.

My background was BASIC > PASCAL > VB6 > Access 2K > VBa > php > MySQL in about that order too.

I'm assuming that C/C++ are my best choices but I would like some opinion on this.

Thank you.

[Hack]

If you are going to go the C route I would suggest C#.

[CornedBee]

C and C++ have, in my opinion, very poor XML support. There are various libraries, but none of them are really nice.
C and C++ have even worse web programming support. CGI is tiresome to use, ISAPI is tied to IIS, and other solutions are very rare and poorly supported.

If you want good XML support and good web support, go for Java. The servlet architecture is IMO the most well-thought-out and flexible web programming environment currently in existence.

[McCain]

Python is also a popular choice when it comes to web development

[Matt_T_hat]

Thank you, that's given some food for thought.

Just a few more questions if I may - what is C# and how does it differ from the "C's"

...and I've heard a lot about RUBY but know even less about it than C - should I honestly even be considering it?

Thanks for letting me drag this thread a little off topic.

[campster]

I'm no expert but C# is the latest version of C that is released with .Net. It's Microsoft's version of Java. I know that MS has J# that is their version of Java but C# and VB.nrt are pretty close.

[CornedBee]

You're no expert indeed and you're completely wrong. Sorry.

C# is a language very similar to Java in look and syntax, developed by Microsoft and standardized by the ECMA (the same organization that also standardized JavaScript). The name C# (pronounced "see sharp") is because, like Java, it's derived from C++, and they, unlike Sun, wanted some similar name.
C# depends on the common language interface and runtime (CLI and CLR) to work. There are two versions of the CLR available: one is Microsoft's own .Net framework and the other is the Mono project.

You could say that C# is Microsoft's answer to Java.

C# differs from C++ in quite a few ways. It runs in a virtual machine and is thus more removed from the hardware. It has garbage collection. It is generally simplified and thus easier to learn than C++.

Ruby is a very interesting language, but I think you should learn a different one first.

[penagate]

Java runs in a virtual machine; C# is JIT-compiled.

[CornedBee]

And what do you think is doing the JIT compiling?

Both Java and C# run in a virtual machine. MS just happens to call it the CLR, the common language runtime.

The Hot-Spot JVM, i.e. Sun's latest Java virtual machine, interpretes on the first run of code, but often-run code is JITed too. (That's why it's called hot spot.) The CLR, on the other hand, always JITs.