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Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

#311

Post by i336_ »

NickFitz wrote: post #243
dwc wrote: post #21

On a daily basis I work with C and a handful of modern languages. I do reach for Common Lisp and Prolog sometimes, so I'll count those. Common Lisp : many, many great things about lisp have been incorporated into modern languages, but CL still has a few unique things, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It's less compelling than it was 10 years ago but some problems are expressed more wonderfully in C…

Although I haven't used Forth much since the time I implemented it on the Atari ST and used it for a commercial product, I still like to think of myself as a Forth person. It continues to influence aspects of my programming style, and can be useful to have known well in surprising circumstances; for example, I once solved a thorny problem in some rather complex XSLT by adapting a technique that's quite normal in Fort…

> I once solved a thorny problem in some rather complex XSLT by adapting a technique that's quite normal in Forth, but would be considered downright weird in many other languages.

I'd be very curious to know what technique you used here.

I sort of stumbled on Forth recently, and while I'm not sure if I'll do anything with it, I like the philosophy behind it more than any other language I've yet found.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

#314

Post by harel »

prawn wrote: post #308
harel wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try Python. Its nothing like CFML but it has that "AHA" feel to it that reminded me of the same AHA ColdFusion gave me in the nineties.

Thanks. I'll investigate. I have used ColdFusion for 10+ years and as such am comfortable enough in it, and support 50-100 sites built with it. But sometimes it's hard to find tools/tips out there as the community isn't very strong.

The "problem" with CF now, is the amount of legacy sites written with it. They will need support and maintenance. To me that is boring work I rather not do (with the exclusion of my own legacy business). Its a stable comfy income, but if you want the excitement and adrenalin (yeah, I'm exaggerating), you might find it in Python, Go, Rust etc.

Re: Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

#317

Post by GFischer »

The main system at the insurance company where I currently work is written in FORTE 4GL's TOOL (I think it stands for The Object Oriented Language)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forte_4GL

It's basically an earlier version of Java, so I don't think there's much to learn from it.

To make things worse, the developers of the system in their infinite wisdom developed a custom scripting language that looks like an ill-conceived assembler.

It's apparently cheaper to have some developers support this monster than to rewrite it from scratch or buy an off-the-shelf product (which, to be fair, are horrendously expensive and consultant fees are ridiculous).

I learned the language through mentoring and reading the online documentation. You really get to value communities and stuff like StackOverflow or Github when you don't have them :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

#319

Post by dllthomas »

dawnbreez wrote: post #301
josegonzalez wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bash is great - we write almost 100% of dokku in it - but most bash looks like shit on a stick. Really hard to follow sometimes, and unless you are using modern bash, also really hard to ensure your own sanity.

I suspect that part of it is unusual syntax--if...fi, anyone?--and part of it is unusual syntax in non-bash things, i.e., Awk looks like moon runes, and to replace ; with \; in sed you need a grand total of SIX backslashes.

> if...fi, anyone?

And here I thought everyone wanted ALGOL-like syntax...

Re: Ask HN: Do you use an old or 'unfashionable' programming language?

#320

Post by dllthomas »

dawnbreez wrote: post #301
josegonzalez wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bash is great - we write almost 100% of dokku in it - but most bash looks like shit on a stick. Really hard to follow sometimes, and unless you are using modern bash, also really hard to ensure your own sanity.

I suspect that part of it is unusual syntax--if...fi, anyone?--and part of it is unusual syntax in non-bash things, i.e., Awk looks like moon runes, and to replace ; with \; in sed you need a grand total of SIX backslashes.

> if...fi, anyone?

And here I thought everyone wanted ALGOL-like syntax...

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