Commentary from Stephen Downes:
Here's a chance to learn a new programming language at tjhe dawn of its useful life, F# (pronounced 'F Sharp'). "Last week, Microsoft Research unveiled a new web-based platform, Try F#, to further the language’s use and open development." The link points to an online learning site where you can learn to code using F# in your browser (how's that for using online learning to support a new product?). "We are bathing in big data," says Evelyne Viegas, director of semantic computing at Microsoft Research. "People are talking about the tsunami of the data, the world of information out there. What F# 3.0 is really about is bringing the schema, the semantics of the data, to the fingertips of the programmers and the researchers."