The best programming language

"What is the best programming language?"
"Which programming language shall I learn?"

These question is asked on Yahoo Answers at least three times a day.

Me and my friend was debating this question the other day. His name is Conor. Anyway, Conor writes in Java, and he was claiming Java was the best, as it is easy to write GUI and it is easy to learn etc etc. I disagreed, saying that the C languages are better as they are faster, less memory intensive and a better standard library.

Then, I had another debate with another friend called Callum. He uses flash, and he says Actionscript is the best as it is super easy to make games. I dismissed this, saying that Actionscript isn't even a real programming language.

Then, I had ANOTHER one with my brother, who doesn't program but at one point he 'wrote' in Scratch. He said scratch is the best beginner programming language, but I disagreed saying its OK for children to introduce them to the world of programming, but python is much better as it is actually something you can write in and it is still really easy.

So what is the best programming language?

There isn't one. Java and Actionscript are best for writing games, or anything with graphics. Python is best for quickly and easily writing a program that will do an equation for you, Scratch is good for animating and introducing people to programming, and the C languages are best for writing console programs or text games. It depends on what you want the program to do.

Thanks for reading :)