Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#1

Post by galenguyer » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 8:43 AM UTC

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#2

Post by mailslot » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 8:47 AM UTC

No.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#3

Post by hguhghuff » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 9:05 AM UTC

No. In fact I don’t even think we’ve really got started

Software development is in its infancy and has a long way to go. New languages are in important part of that.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#4

Post by vortico » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 9:12 AM UTC

No, simply making a programming language does not make the field worse. It can only make it better. But if the question was rephrased "are there too many languages to learn in order to be competitive in the job market", than maybe. Competing standards is just a truth about this field and many other industries. Rust and Go, Typescript and Dart, Python and Ruby, Java and C#, etc. It is unknown which language will be more relevant in 20 years, so it's best to learn as many as you can. It's an easier task than it might sound.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#5

Post by gitgud » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 12:48 PM UTC

No, and it's not a bad thing either. Each one has strengths and weaknesses. You need constant innovation in different languages in order to evolve the art of programming.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#6

Post by cimmanom » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 12:51 PM UTC

What would be the difference between “enough” and “too many”?

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#7

Post by gamechangr » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 4:51 PM UTC

cimmanom wrote: post #6

What would be the difference between “enough” and “too many”?

Enough - I had enough to drink and then drove home.

Too many - I had too many drinks and killed someone as I drove home.

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#8

Post by DoreenMichele » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 4:53 PM UTC

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#9

Post by cimmanom » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 5:11 PM UTC

gamechangr wrote: post #7

cimmanom wrote: post #6

What would be the difference between “enough” and “too many”?

Enough - I had enough to drink and then drove home. Too many - I had too many drinks and killed someone as I drove home.

Sure (if you think there’s a non-trivial amount a person can drink and still drive safely). But as applied to programming languages?

Re: Ask HN: Are there too many programming languages?

#10

Post by sylvanhughes » Sun, Nov 18, 2018, 5:49 PM UTC

What I think would be important is really determining what each language is essential for, and sticking to that. When it all goes to hell is when a language comes out with ways to try to outsmart the other, then confusion kicks in, and we have questions like this that show up on HN. An example would be when a language is not really object oriented, but is kind of object-oriented...