Let's see... what programming language? What would make the most sense for the adult internet in future? I do have an opinion, and it's admittedly biased.
Let me back up a bit, for perspective.
I do recall seeing, although never using, computers with vacuum tubes. Computers still in active use, I mean. I do recall the tail end of the changeover to discrete transistors, and later to integrated circuit boards - the IBM System 360, for example.
If you know where to look, you'll recognize 1960's technology still in use. Teflon and Mylar, sure, but also computer technology. The largest source of "millenium bug" conversion effort, was in stuff written in the 1970's and even 1960's. It's still out there.
Perhaps more importantly, ten-year-old technology remains very much in use. Why is this? There are two primary reasons: (1) reliability; and (2) cost of replacement.
There is a third reason which applies to us - the idea of the least common denominator.
Let's look at that third reason first, so you can see what I mean, and then we'll see how the principle applies to the first two reasons.
We do NOT build sites specifically for broadband users. No, we build sites for first-time surfers on 28.8k modems. *They* are our primary market. This fact is a major focus of what we teach here... if you're not sure what I'm getting at, PLEASE ask. We go light on graphics, and we specifically tell them to Click Here.
We do NOT recommend using leading-edge technology such as digital signatures, 200k graphics, or even flash.
In my opinion, the same principle applies to your choice of web programming language.
PHP, for example, may well be the wave of the future. Thus far, I have seen no reason to touch it. When my browser grinds to a halt, often as not it's on a PHP page. I just don't see the reliability, from an end-user's perspective. (Note reason #1 above.)
I personally don't give a rip about the details of the programming language itself. All else being equal, I'll pick the one easiest to learn, and/or the best tool for the job. I don't pick *just* the best tool for the job... PHP might be the best tool for a specific situation. But if I need a week to learn sufficient PHP, and I can do the job in three hours with Perl, I'll do it in Perl. I value my time.
All programming languages have merits, or they would not exist. All languages have advantages. The question is, which advantages are important to you.
I personally find Perl advantageous because of its close ties to the "unix" way of doing things. Many things are self evident due to my unix background... and it possesses enough obscurities to appeal to my vanity.
But... let's go back and make sure I'm answering the right question.
The question comes from the standpoint of an adult webmaster. We are *not* proposing to write the paysite statistics package, and we are *not* proposing from-scratch database design. We are asking about the most bang for the buck from a general-purpose point of view.
I recommend focusing on Perl, and my reasons are #1, #2, and #3 above.
#1. Perl is universally available, and universally reliable. Likewise with information about Perl. Learn how to look for the information - that's perhaps the most important skill of all. I hate stuff that sucks. Thus reliability is my #1 criterion.
#2. Perl will be around for quite a while, because it is so pervasive. That kind of software investment will not be thrown away overnight. Unix and the adult internet are closely connected, and therefore so is Perl.
#3. Is really an outgrowth of #1 and #2. Wherever you go, you can count on Perl being available. Moreover, you can count on a *reliable* version of Perl being available. One of my competitors wrote a "professional edition" software package, building upon many of my features. He made it really fancy, really cool, and incorporated an SQL database to tie things together. (I don't recall if it was SQL or MySQL.) The software package turned out to be deadly. (Are you following this, Mr Boo?) You see, 60% of his customers did not have SQL available. My competitor chewed up a tremendous amount of time getting the prerequisites installed, so that his software could run.
It seems he'd never considered that as part of his design. I *had* considered that, but I certainly wasn't going to tell my competitor. Besides, I was busily finding plenty of things I had *not* considered.... :)
So. What do I do now? And, mind you, this borders on being a trade secret.
I stay with the "least common denominator" principle, and stay with the most reliable platform possible. I have experience with enough different webhosting setups, that I know which parts of Perl I can count on. There are parts of Perl I can *not* count on!
It's been said that my stuff sucks. AVS Board post #2541 says, "...I guess I am just into quality not quantity. I have yet to see sites made with it that don't look as bad as Voltar's site with the pre-90's black background and blue text."
The funny thing is, that sucky script built page is responsible for today's ARS signup, and indeed responsible for 20+ ARS signups this calendar year. Because of reasons #1, #2, and #3, I will *continue* to write stuff that sucks.
Perl sucks, and it's not leading edge - so I'll continue to use it. Therefore I'll continue to make four figures, and five.
Lenny, you may come up with a different answer than Perl. It's your *reasons* for the answer that are important. I found Perl to be very hospitable, because of my programming background. You may find the opposite. Go with what works for you, in light of the reasons, above.
The above is merely an application of what Voltar teaches. And, from my standpoint, the above is as valuable as *anything* Voltar teaches. Take it for what it's worth. :-)
Hmmm...
There's more. I recommend the following books.
Perl and CGI for the world wide web, a visual quickstart guide, http://beta.peachpit.com/vqs/perlcgi/ is aimed at people completely new to programming. So far as learning perl goes, it does not go far enough. But for learning how to write a script to process an html form, it's outstandingly excellent.
Anything by OReilly. Specifically, Programming Perl by Larry Wall et al. Take a look at the OReilly books on Perl, and pick the ones best suited to your need. Expect to spend $50 per book.
Do NOT bother with any of those two inch thick paperback books promising to teach you CGI. Every one I have seen, at least, is completely worthless.
The other one I found of extreme value, is Mastering Regular Expressions by Jeffrey E.F. Friedl. Again, by O'Reilly (www.oreilly.com).