Next easiest language to learn if I already know SAS?
Posted by vegan_renegade@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 18 comments
I only know SAS, but would love to get a 2nd language under my belt, but the easiest one for me already knowing SAS. Want to hear opinions of those that use SAS. I didn't put my field of work on purpose since I don't want this to be relevant.. I just want the next easiest language to learn.
CrossScarMC@reddit
I had somehow never heard of SAS until now.
Neomalytrix@reddit
I came to say what is SAS.
data-crusader@reddit
This was also new to me, I don’t recall ever seeing it and I’ve reviewed a lot or resumes for roles I’ve filled.
tarheeljks@reddit
unless you are specifically doing stats stuff-- not even just data analysis-- you prob wouldn't see it. and even then you might not see it unless you are in specific industries
DrawSense-Brick@reddit
It's very niche. Even within data analysis, most people prefer R over SAS outside of legacy companies.
JS-AI@reddit
It’s pretty outdated. I know it is used in industry, but it is used sparsely I imagine. Python and R are used more
divad1196@reddit
Because SAS isn't general purpose. It's specific to a domain (here: data analysis).
You have time to discover obscure languages.
Fox-Flimsy@reddit
You’re full of SAS ain’t ya
jpgoldberg@reddit
“Next easiest after SAS” is going to be something very similar, like R. But I’m guessing you are aiming to go slightly farther afield. I’m not familiar with SAS, but my guess is that like R it is really teaches some bad programming habits. So if I’d recommend going the opposite way. Swift and Go are modern languages that are designed to be “first languages” while also not continuing some of the slapdash patterns in the scripting languages developed nearly half a century ago.
Naetharu@reddit
Languages in generally are easy to learn. Doing things with them is hard.
I would not focus on the ease of syntax, but the applicability to your goals. What do you want to achieve that is not doable with SAS? Then find a language that fits that requirement.
QuriousMyndler@reddit
Sorry, I only know Finnair
kapanenship@reddit
I have used R for years and have been also tasked with learning SAS. It is terrible. So if you have mastered it, you can learn anything. I might add, you already know two languages if you know SAS. SQL being one.
JS-AI@reddit
R would be the easiest after that, it’s another statistical programming language. Although, if you want to be more employable/have the ability to do more things with code I suggest learning Python. I’ve done all 3 languages and Python is my favorite. You can do so many things with it that you can’t with the other 2
HuckleberryDry2919@reddit
Agreed — R is probably the best for OP in particular because it’s geared toward stats and data analysis, which is almost certainly what they use SAS for now. So at least the ideas and some use cases will feel familiar. It’s nice that it has c-like syntax which is going to be a nice stepping stone to branching out to more general purpose languages.
liproqq@reddit
R is for scientist who don't want to learn a full blown language, just like SAS.
HuckleberryDry2919@reddit
Funny thing about SAS, the company that created it tried to argue in court that it’s not a programming language. They wanted to patent it, but legally in the US you can’t patent a programming language. So they tried to say it’s not a real programming language.
They lost, but it’s still a funny story. I’ve used it at my job for the last 5 years and wish you luck in getting away from it! It’s awful.
zdxqvr@reddit
I don't have any experience with SAS but other languages that are used for similar things are Julia and R. Python is used for data science and ML and is a good general language to learn. If you wanna get weird take a look into APL languages, my favorite dialect is J.
ninhaomah@reddit
Easiest language is subjective isn't it ?
For example , English language , for those adult learners , is one of the hardest languages to learn. Chinese is far far more easier , to speak not to read / write. Hour vs Our. Its vs It's. etc
So since there is no info , I would say Python.