You could also code in raw c. I used to code some small utilities in c for my linux home computer... long time ago!
I've installed gcc and tools, and thanks to Pygtkeditor, I've been able to write and compile a little tcp sniffer straight on my n900! (you can find it somewhere in app section).
Now I'm tinkering with netbeans on the phone. A bit slow though but usable. I have to try a bit of pyQt now.

thanks for the responses...I really want to learn updated versions of the languages, can you in fact install more recent (and working) versions in the easy debian chroot package I have heard about?

Yes, with some work.

Funny, this morning I was just thinking of installing Ruby so I could play with it.

The Roku remote settings were available for download from the program menu, so all I had to do was move buttons around and add a background. Not very polished but it worked. Now the next time the remote gets lost, I'm set.

And while not exactly a language, the SQLite database can be very rewarding to learn to use.

Terry

While I complained a bit about the Perl being old, sometimes it can be better to learn an older version of a language, especially if it's widely used. Where I work, for some reason they only have Perl 5.6 installed so if I were to use 5.12 or Perl 6, I'd have to deal with even more compatibility issues.

So, you shouldn't have to worry about coding in Python 2.5 - either your stuff will run as backward compatible or you'll have thousands of fellow coders to keep you company as you find out which features are deprecated. Which is an equally useful learning experience with software. :-)

Terry

I learned to program in ruby on my n900...

I'd love to see a ruby thread if anyone has any scripts to share. I'm totally self-taught when it comes to scripting and modifying existing scripts is the easiest way for me to learn.

Actually, a scripting thread on these forums would be nice to have. Something between more specialized than Applications and less formal than Development.

Terry

ah work that a mortal like myself could overcome? I just bought a beginning perl book (oreilly press) and it covers perl 5.10 and I really just want to be able to work with the examples in the book...

ability to run updated versions of perl and python will probably be the deciding factor in this purchase. I do get that I could learn on the older versions, but linux = choice and I think on real linux I should have the choice for a newer version right? so how hard on the debian chroot install?

Easy Debian is not all the difficult to install or use.. but once you start updating packages weird things "can" happen.

It's certainly within the realm of possibility to update to whatever debian's latest perl or python is; and if you have any problems or questions there are quite a few of us here willing to help you through it.

To add, there's a thread Developing on the N900 itself? about getting the SDK in the N900 itself which opens door to lot of things however, I haven't yet managed to work it out and 'm still waiting for answers from our great intelligent people here