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I love ahk and had allot of fun making programs in it. I am looking for the next language I should dig into but just don't know what would be best. I just mainly want one that is going to be more advance but still fun.

Python is a good choice. Personally, I love the simplicity, and how it lets you focus on what you need to get things done, instead of the language itself. It also has an excellent community, is cross platform, and has extensive documentation and tutorials. I believe it to be a very logical step when you want something more "advanced".

Edit: And yes, it is, in my opinion, fun. No worries about how you'll get something done, there's probably already a standard library module for it.

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This question is probably better suited for the General Chat section. However, I would ask - why do you like AHK? I like AHK because it's simple, has easy syntax, is fun to write scripts in, & has a great forum . I found that Ruby was another "easy" language that I enjoyed writing in - only more advanced. I'd prolly recommend Ruby, Python, or Lua.

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I'll recommend Python as well. I love it. Named parameters and list comprehension! If you enjoy AHK, I definitely think you'll enjoy Python.

Just my two cents (more or less).
I do use Ahk for years and wanted to "upgrade" me to Python in the last month. I failed to do that.

The first thing I do not like what others say is, that all you say Python is superior to Ahk. It sounds like Ahk would be a beginner programming language for script kiddies. And if you are grown, then "upgrade" yourself to Python, I do read often. That bugs me really.

AutoHotkey is not a programming language in first place. With it we can do things easily, but in Python it is really hard. Think about hotkeys and Guis. I never have seen any language where these aspects are sooo easy to create and use.

My advice: "Upgrade" (I do not like that word in this context) yourself to Python only if you do not need the power of AutoHotkey. Or if Windows is not your only OS. In my terms, Ahk is actually advanced!

My intention is not to start any flame war, sorry if this sounds like. It is for the beginner in Ahk who thinks Python can do everything what Ahk could do and better, easier and faster or something. Have a nice sunday.

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Thankfully, nobody said "upgrade" here (though I understand your frustration with people who do talk like that!). As I saw it, the OP was looking for the next language to learn. As in not ditching AHK forever, but simply expanding their programming experience.

So for , I'd add "or if you just love to learn and want to become a better programmer through broader experiences."

As for "more advanced", I think that's a fair comparison. AHK is better for certain tasks, but I'd still consider it a fundamentally simple/easy language.

It depends more on why you're into programming at all.
If you're just wanting to create simple scripts to simplify your life in the computer world then AHK is perfect for you and you have no NEED to add more on your plate.
If you just want to learn more to have more variety when solving problems with scripts go ahead and try Python out.
If you're wanting to move to creating applications with more robust features and a language you can brag about knowing I would suggest learning Java. Java is quickly becoming THE language to learn in my opinion.

The thing to realize is that if you know AHK, you know atleast half of Java, Python, and every other language out there. Syntax will change and how your code is compiled will change, it's all the same principle, the same thought process. Object-Oriented may scare you at first but objects are incredibly simple and helpful after awhile.


Anyways, those be my two cents.

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another two cents:
I think the question can´t be answered without further information.
Of coarse, everybody could mention their favorite programming language,
but that wouldn´t help. All programming languages have something special that makes it very interesting and fun to learn it(they wouldn´t have been invented otherewise).
So it would be important to know your special interests in programming.
e.g.: if you are interested in internet related stuff, JavaScript and PHP could be interesting.
If you are interested in game-programming, the SDK would be more important than the programming language itself; so you woud go with the language of the best SDK anyway.(so MS XNA Game Studio would lead you to C#)
If you want to know more about other programming paradigms like object-oriented programming or functional programming, you could choose C# of F#.
If cross-plattform compatibility is important, Java might be the right choice.

In any case, the chance is good, that you find a community for that language that suits your needs.

My personal suggest: Go hardcore, learn ASM!

Actually learning assembly language would do every programmer some good. Working with registers, the low level control of every detail, you come to realize how rather simple the logic is at the lowest level; how the calls are made to functions and the OS, how certain optimizations are done and chosen. And most important, raw access to the full potential of the CPU. I'm not saying build a huge program in nothing but ASM.

After playing around in ASM, some of your coding style may change. And with optimizers these days, doing odd coding to guide the compiler to specific optimizations are less important. Unless your programming a PIC chip