C and JavaScript.
I worked with Perl before PHP but never grew to like it (it's not consistent enough and not exactly easy on the eyes, either).
I do understand the tradeoff between efficiency and power, and PHP hits that sweet spot just right for web programming.
Worrying _too_ much about language efficiency when it comes to web programming is clearly a case of premature optimisation. PHP is efficient enough (probably Perl and Python as well, maybe not Ruby ?).
Worrying _too_ much about language efficiency when it comes to web programming is clearly a case of premature optimisation.
Well, sometimes it's a question of a choice between upgrading your hardware and optimizing your code (or even re-writing in some other language). Which is cheaper? I'm into it right now, haven't decided yet ;)
Ok, but you said PHP is efficient. I say, PHP is efficient as much as the language itself allows it to be. If there are many late-binding languages around and PHP at least doesn't look bad compared to them, it doesn't mean it's efficient. Late-binding offers some new possibilities in programming of course, but the price is high and programmers should be aware of that. And when it comes to computationally intensive tasks (encryption, graphics, any hardware-related task), you can't trust programmers who are entirely into dynamic languages, no matter what they say about their favorite ones.
That's why I recommended it as a good choice for web programming.
What other languages do you master as much as PHP?