Say, i want to build tcp client for check connection and can deploy anywhere without install any dependency, so i think golang would be a great choice. Maybe because your team are more comfortable with Python or dealing with AI/ML stuff, Java if you're dealing with Android apps, or because you are working on bank company, Rust for efficiency or some web server, Elixir i heard it's good for building messaging apps, C# for games, and even visual basic if you're dealing with legacy stuff.
Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
1–10 of 48 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#2No matter what people say, the reality is that people use languages they know best. And unless you strive for the best possible performance, there is really no other reason to change that. Do not let perfectionism be in the way of "good enough".
Also, you can ship fast and write more performant version, possibly in different language, later.
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#31. What’s vaguely appropriate. You’re probably not going to write C++ for browser frontend, and JavaScript is probably not a great choice for embedded. But there are a zillion equally valid options for web backends, for instance.
2. Ecosystem. I might choose a language for a game based on available frameworks. Or Python for ML based on available libraries. Or if you want to work with XMPP, Erlang is handy to know.
3. Familiarity. You’ll move faster and write better code with a language and ecosystem you and your team are already familiar with.
But often there are many valid options and you just have to choose one.
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#4What are you trying to accomplish? Say it's a start-up or a profitable business, you need to test your hypotheses, validate/invalidate the idea, etc. The risk is not technical, it's a business risk, so you ought to get to the truth as fast as possible, and you get there using what you're most productive in. The goal is to discover if it's "desirable, feasible, viable", not to optimize prematurely.
>Say, i want to build tcp client for check connection and can deploy anywhere without install any dependency
Why? What are you trying to accomplish? Where do these constraints come from? Where does the no dependency constraint come from? Where does deploying anywhere come from? Where does checking the connection come from? What is the real problem you are trying to solve?
These questions are to avoid the XY problem, to avoid the trap of solutionism, and to get to the "Job to Be Done".
Someone once asked me how to solder a thick copper wire to a thin steel plate. When I asked him why, I listened in disbelief as he answered that the fuse blew out and that he was going to get a thicker wire and solder it so it doesn't blow out. His solution comes from an incorrect diagnosis of the problem at hand, and he asked me about the solution framed as problem, not the true, root, problem.
To answer your question: it depends.
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#5chose the one I am familiar with
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#6Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#7Forwards and backwards stability. I want my language to be able to run code I write today in 2035. And for code I write in 2035 to work on my toolchain from today. I don't want code I've written to stop working or only work on eternal wave of newest and break on setups a few years old. I don't want to install a separate version of my language for every application, I want to use the system version. I don't need the latest and greatest computer science features. I just need something that can do almost everything and keep doing it reliably forever* (*in computer tech terms 10yr+). It does exist but it's rare.
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#8No matter what people say, the reality is that people use languages they know best. And unless you strive for the best possible performance, there is really no other reason to change that. Do not let perfectionism be in the way of "good enough". Also, you can ship fast and write more performant version, possibly in different language, later.
Although sometimes the choice is so you can learn that language, which is absolutely the best way to learn a new programming language.
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#91. Figure out the best programming language (it's Scala) 2. Use that for all the applications I build
Re: Ask HN: How do you choose languages for building applications?
#10For legacy stuff, almost by definition, your language is picked for you. If you've got a million lines of VB, then I guess you're using VB, but it could easily be any other language.
For everything else, you either go with what you know, or just try to evaluate the best choice based on the language and toolchain.