[scott_s]

I think that learning a scripting language is critical, but which scripting language is not. I used Perl for a while, then picked up Python, and I just adore Python. But pick one of Perl, Python, Ruby (or even Bash), and you're in good shape.

So, my actual advice is take a look at Perl, Python and Ruby, see which one excites you more, and commit to learning it for a while.

[new299]

I've actually written small projects in all of them. The one that excited me the most was Ruby (and outside of scripting, golang). Ruby seems clean and small, which I like. But I also question the long term prospects of various languages. There seems to have been an explosion of languages in the last few years and I wonder how many will survive long term. Then I'm possibly just spoiled by C and C++, which just seem to maintain a (relatively) mainstream status.

[scott_s]

Ruby, Python and Perl are older than you probably realize. Ruby started in 1993, Python in 1991, and Perl in 1987. I would not worry about their long term prospects: they've been around for a while, and I think it's a safe assumption they will be around for a while still.

Avoid decision paralysis. If you like Ruby, go with it. As I said, I don't think which scripting language you pick is all that important, but I think it's crucial that you know one.