Ask HN: A programming language with the best community?

#1

Post by peculiar » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 6:32 AM UTC

Is it a bad idea to choose programming language based on the friendliness of its community? Among the mainstream general purpose languages which one would you consider the most friendly and professional?

I've been using Go for about 5 years now. And although contribution to the Go Project (when it comes to interaction with Google employees) was the best experience I've ever had in open-source, interaction with the broader community feels like diving into a cesspit full of feces. Is it stupid to stop using the language just because of that?

Re: Ask HN: A programming language with the best community?

#2

Post by johnny_reilly » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 7:20 AM UTC

That's an interesting question. Actually, from a mental wellbeing standpoint I can see the merits of a avoiding a language / platform if the community around it seems unpleasant / abrasive.

FWIW I think the TypeScript community is one of the best out there. I came for the language, I was delighted by the people <3

Re: Ask HN: A programming language with the best community?

#3

Post by ankurdhama » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 8:01 AM UTC

>Is it stupid to stop using the language just because of that?

Yes.

You will find every kind of people in every community.

Re: Ask HN: A programming language with the best community?

#4

Post by fiedzia » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 2:12 PM UTC

ankurdhama wrote: post #3

>Is it stupid to stop using the language just because of that? Yes. You will find every kind of people in every community.

This might be true, but some communities are more attractive than others. There is a big difference for example between communities created around things that require an effort to reach for and those that people use because it is their job, a way to get a job or (worse) are required from them in school.

Discarding a tool just because you don't like some of its users is childish, but there is nothing wrong with looking for community that you enjoy.

Re: Ask HN: A programming language with the best community?

#5

Post by twobyfour » Fri, Jul 07, 2017, 2:18 PM UTC

Absolutely. The dominant tone varies from community to commuity. The end result is that some communities are more helpful to new members than others; some are more collaborative and into sharing or open source than others. You'll find more showboating and chest-beating in some communities than others. Some simply have higher levels of participation and interaction in IRC and mailing lists than others.

Obviously, if a technology isn't a good fit for your project, you shouldn't use it anyway just because of its community. But if you're choosing between technologies that are both appropriate for a given project (say, Rails vs. Django for a CRUD web app), community can and should be a major factor - especially if you're new to the technology.