From Java to Tcl

So. Version 1.0 of The Project From Hell (aren't they all?) is delivered, another Java programmer is on staff, and now it looks like I'm moving on to something new.

Specifically, I'm picking up the responsibilities of a contractor who's leaving, and most of the software he maintains is in Tcl.

Possibly interesting: Tcl is a functional language, though probably not 'pure' enough to satisfy Haskell or ML/OCaml enthusiasts; in particular, it doesn't seem to have any phobia about 'side effects'. And the syntax is notoriously flaky. (I say this as my bookmark is still on page 1 of Ousterhout's book, so don't take it too seriously.)

Java is very good to have on one's resume -- especially the 'enterprisey' form of Java, with Struts and EJBs and so forth; but it's a flaming PITA to learn and use. Tcl, by contrast, is probably nearly useless for dressing up the resume, but between dynamism, a taste of functional programming, and the sheer puzzle-value of the syntax, it may wind up being a lot of fun.

Still, I keep wanting to set aside some time to learn Ruby. (And Lisp. And C#. And Haskell, and OCaml, and Lua, and OpenGL, and...) Since I've always had trouble trying to learn more than one language at once, it looks like that's not going to happen for a while yet.