Any recommendations on programming language choice?

Question

My experience is in php/mysql but I was considering learning Java to work on a system for analysing the smartform database because it's also used for Android apps which I have an interest in. Is this a good idea or should I give more consideration to other options, anything in particular?

Answer 1

Any scripting language with a database interface to Smartform is preferred since it's far quicker and shorter to program than lower level or strongly typed languages:

Ruby

R

Python

Perl

PHP

... would all qualify, as would others.  You can also find some examples of programming Smartform with Perl and R on the site.