13 Reasons Java is Here to Stay

Over here (and here is the Google cached version after the website fell because of the Slashdot effect). This article discusses why the language family of java,C, C# and C++ are here to stay, and won't be replaced any time soon by new contenders such as Ruby and Haskell.

I agree. While as Eli likes to say, it's important to know functional languages / paradigms, I really believe that most programming tasks should be done in either the C# or java flavors of Java# (A future hybrid of the Java and C#? It's really sad IMO that two almost identical languages don't join forces and user bases). C# is my current favorite, but I can see benefits to Java as well, not the least of which is the huge open community and plethora of available tools for Java. I do like the fact the functional programming is included in C# 3.0 and will be supported in Resharper 4.0 - a strong code analysis and refactoring tool is essential for developing and maintaining large projects.

To be fair, I'll admit that most of my programming experience, and what I find most interesting, is classical server-side programming (that's what I currently do in Delver). Also, besides a brief encounter with LISP and Prolog in university courses, I haven't had the time/motivation to truly learn families outside of the C family tree.