Picking a Programming Language

I am certain that I am not the only person that has struggled with a programming language selection. Perl, PHP, Java, Ruby, Python, etc.., etc.., etc... The problem isn't finding a good language (they are all good), the problem is finding the right one for you. I have struggled with this for quite some time now (as have many) and have often looked for advise from others (two really good presentations are included at the end of this post). For me I ended up using Perl for most of my SysAdmin type tasks. Anything running from a command line that required more complexity than a simple pipe to grep. And for my web development I ended up with PHP+Smarty (for templates - which is an awesome app btw). While this combination has given me the best of both worlds in many cases, in more than one way it has been less than optimal. Why? Because I don't code every day. This means whatever language I was working in last is what is freshest in my mind. So every time I need to go back and forth there is a learning curve that I have to deal with. I've become _good_ in two languages, but not great in either. I've been annoyed by this, and struggled with this issue for some time, which has lead me to a decision: Only program one language... Perl Why Perl? For me it's a pratical decision. I use more Perl on a day to day basis than I do PHP. It has more applications in line with what I need. Besides, Perl is cool. Now all I need to do is figure out how to write a CGI script that works. Making the Case for PHP at Yahoo! One Year of PHP at Yahoo!