[jimmaswell]

I've written some backend in C# and it was highly productive. I hate dealing with the uncertainty and mushyness that seems to show itself in dynamic or script-like languages in projects larger than a small script. Obviously they're viable choices according to their userbases but it wouldn't hurt to point out some more strongly or statically typed choices. There are solid frameworks in Java too, which has had a lot of industry use as a web backend. I'd probably also find your suggestion of Go nicer to work with than Python or Ruby.

And how did PHP get left out of this?

[malandrew]

C# is also a legitimate option if you're using windows. Java is a good option too (although I would hesitate to recommend any language where you need to have an IDE to be productive). I should have included C# or both.

I left PHP out intentionally. If you're going to be immersed in a new community, you should at least be immersed in one where a greater percentage of the code you come across is of reasonable quality and is more likely to have tests. The PHP community is the epitome of cowboy coding and a novice programmer would pick up many bad habits from the code they come across in that community.

[jimmaswell]

Mono works well enough that .NET languages can be a good option outside Windows as well.