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Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

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Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#381

Post by alfalfasprout »

CoolGuySteve wrote: post #308
paulrpotts wrote: post #2

Lots and lots of C. (I'm mostly an embedded C programmer these days). Some C++ for a bit of higher-level "business logic" that benefits from a class-based approach, but a fairly limited subset of "modern" C++.

Coming from the HFT side, I find C++ surpasses C in a lot of ways for optimization work. Mainly you can use integer template arguments and generic functions to abstract all the boilerplate in a way that is more safe than C macros. For a semi-contrived example, instead of writing a do4Things() and do8Things() to unwind some loops, I can write template doThings() where the int argument is the bound on the loop. And hav…

Yeah, the nice thing about C++ is that you can generally hide highly optimized portions of code behind nice templates or class interfaces. And with templates you can write libraries that let a lot of compile time logic happen to inline a bunch of stuff and not have to resort to virtual methods.

But when it comes to using things like custom allocators, etc. it's a nightmare. Or a lot of the compile time "traits".

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#382

Post by alfalfasprout »

randomthrowr88 wrote: post #181
paulrpotts wrote: post #2

Lots and lots of C. (I'm mostly an embedded C programmer these days). Some C++ for a bit of higher-level "business logic" that benefits from a class-based approach, but a fairly limited subset of "modern" C++.

Serious question: How does one get into this C embedded stuff? I'm addicted to low-level "embedded" type work. But all I hear back from are Django, RoR, $HOT_JS_FRAMEWORK, DevOps teams/recruiters. Is there some buzzword or special topic to know and do a project in? Any suggestions for projects to display on GitHub, topics to know through and through (domain specific knowledge)? I sit at work thinking all day about Ra…

Look by industry. In the financial sector, knowing VHDL/Verilog is becoming popular (given the rise of FGPAs everwhere). In sectors like robots, defense, aerospace, etc. you'll find a lot of traditional embedded roles.

These aren't "sexy" areas so don't expect to get recruited. Like, mainframe programmers, these positions are in demand but just aren't widely advertised at all.

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#383

Post by alfalfasprout »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #145
aloukissas wrote: post #15

Most of my work is in C++, which is almost 35 years old. By far the best choice of language for cross-platform, client application development, especially C++11/C++14, which bring modern language features (e.g. lambdas, futures, etc) with all the original benefits of the language.

I love that C++ is my primary language right now, after years of being stuck doing Java. I really enjoy working in C++11. With CLion it's super awesome.

CLion really has made C++ fun again. Yeah, there are some bugs you run into here and there with the static analyzer but generally it's fast, really intuitive, and nice to work with.

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#384

Post by nickpsecurity »

shanemhansen wrote: post #3

lisp: It excels in "key algorithmic techniques such as recursion and condescension". http://james-iry.blogspot.com/2009/05/brief-incomplete-and-m...

Almost didn't read it thinking someone was going Total, LISP Weenie in there. Glad I did: it's a parody of a bunch of languages with some great laughs. Can't even pick a favorite haha. Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#385

Post by makapuf »

tyingq wrote: post #141
shaftway wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love that I'm at a company that I haven't had to use SQL. I don't know if I could even find a relational database here. But in a classic meme sense: "It isn't you I hate SQL, it's what I have to think about when I use you." I don't want to spend my time thinking about database indexes, query plans, or other complicated bits. I just want to get my data out. Sometimes I struggle, and I'd give anything for a plain inn…

Surely there's a relational DB somewhere...perhaps indirectly via Saas? Maybe payroll, company books, timesheets, or some other software common to most businesses.

Or... in your smartphone maybe (your iPhone / android address book is stored in sqlite iirc)

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#386

Post by m_fayer »

weavie wrote: post #364
cwbrandsma wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll agree with you there. SQL is the one language that I hate, yet use constantly, and will certainly out-live me.

I used to think I hated SQL until I decided I had had enough of it and I tried to do a project using a no-sql database. Suddenly everything became a lot harder and I was having to write massive amounts of code to do the things that could be done with a few lines of SQL. Even the simplest of tasks just sucked the life out of me. I soon ported the project over to use Postgres and decided that actually SQL is awesome.

I know exactly what you mean. I've realised that when you're solving a hard problem (complex data logic, extreme performance requirements) with SQL, you end up systematically experimenting and thinking very deeply within a rigidly defined system. With no-sql databases, you're monkeying with obscure APIs that cover up obscure, idiosyncratic, and hard-to-reason about database engines, and patching strange behavior with rickety app-layer code.

Both kinds of work are hard, but with SQL you can usually expect the problem to yield to intense engagement and produce a solution that's complete, robust, and satisfying.

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#387

Post by alfalfasprout »

alexcweiner wrote: post #301

I use APL as the sole language for my current job. Previous job was also APL. cumulative 4 years, and I'm under 30 yrs old, which is a bit of an oddity.

APLs are really nice, though! I think they scare away newcomers since they look like brainfuck but it's incredible how you can write fairly intricate programs with one-liners. Also can be incredibly fast since array operations are straightforward to vectorize.

I just wish the K language or KDB+ was open sourced. We'd see people from just about every industry drooling over how nice it is.

Re: Ask HN: What “old” programming languages will you still be using in 2017?

#388

Post by ArkyBeagle »

vram22 wrote: post #309
networked wrote: post #77

Tcl. It works really well as a cross-platform (*nix/Windows) alternative to shell scripting that doesn't suffer from the same problems as the POSIX shell (see http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/fixing-unix-linux-filenames.h... ). It builds on the same foundation of everything being text but with a few changes to the substitution rules builds something a lot like a Lisp on top of it.

Can it integrate with Unix command-line filters and tools roughly as well as shell can? Interested.

Uh.... yes. At least Tcl can; I haven't used expect in years.

The subject is "tcl pipes".

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