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Comment by mcav | Hacker News Reader

I like Python. Fast to develop in like Ruby, but also well-suited to many different types of programming tasks.

If you're looking to learn a new language, Python's my advice. Ruby is good too, but it seems to be primarily used for web development.

If you already know PHP, learn any new language -- be it Python, Ruby, or something else. It's a good investment that will pay off in the long run no matter which language you choose.

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I'd second the Python recommendation. Switching from custom PHP to Python (specifically Django) saved me a ton of development headaches.

Yeah, I used Django a few times before. It's very nice.

Though, Django is pretty slower than any PHP framework(from the frameworks I've worked with)

That's likely a false impression, and has to do with things like number of database calls, design, and other non-language-defining features. Don't let perceived speed be the deciding factor in your language choice: If speed was that important, you'd be writing in C.

Perhaps it is possible that Django's highly flexible nature is giving you enough rope to hang yourself here. Performance is not an issue for me, though (as always) I have to be careful not to do stupid things to the database.

When I first started using Django, I wasn't sure about it either, for a few different reasons - but performance wasn't one of them. Long story short, I'm glad I invested the time in taking it up...

Django was actually my first use of Python - so you can imagine how pleased I was to replace a custom PHP app with something I just learned - and in record time. (if you're interested, the web app was: http://www.snapact.com/)

I have noticed no issues with performance as compared to PHP.

This is an old link (that I wish would be updated) about performance of some various frameworks (in various languages):

http://www.alrond.com/en/2007/jan/25/performance-test-of-6-l...

Thanks, I'm pretty good in php. I love the Kohana PHP framework.

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