I'm wondering if there are any un-biased resources that give good, specific overviews of programming languages and their intended goals. I would like to learn a new language, but visiting the sites of each language isn't working. Each one talks about how great it is without much mention of it's weaknesses or specific goals.

Ruby is a dynamic, open source programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity.

Python is a programming language that lets you work more quickly and integrate your systems more effectively.

Having been a PHP developer for years, Vic Cherubini sums up my plight well:

I knew PHP well, had my own framework, and could work quickly to get something up and running.

I programmed like this throughout the MVC revolution. I got better and better jobs (read: better paying, better title) as a PHP developer, but all along the way realizing that the code I wrote on my own time was great, and the code I worked with at work was horrible. Like, worse than horrible. Atrocious. OS Commerce level bad. Having side projects kept me sane, because the code I worked with at work made me miserable.

This is why I'm retiring from PHP for my side projects and new programming ventures. I'm spent with PHP. Exhausted, if you will. I've reached a level where I think I'm at the top with it as a language and if I don't move on to a new language soon, I'll be done completely with programming and I do not want that.

Languages I've looked at include JavaScript (for node.js), Ruby, Python, & Erlang. I've even thought about Scala or C++.

The problem is figuring out which ones are built to handle my needs the best.

So where can I go to skip the hype and get real information about the maturity of a platform, the size of the community, and the strengths & weaknesses of that language. If I know these then picking a language to continue my web development should be easy.