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Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

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Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#1

Post by hobin »

...For startups, that is?

To be completely honest, I don't like web programming and most of the higher-level programming at all. I do dislike design, when I build something I want it to look good - I simply prefer working on the deepest levels of a technical problem. The part with grinding gears.

Basically, I'm mostly working on low-level software (assembly and C), and on interesting hardware. With that being said: do you think there is room in the startup world for these kind of projects? The initial investment appears to be higher, manufacturing hardware is a lot more trouble and low-level programming isn't done that much anymore. What do you think?

EDIT: I should note that for something to be interesting to me (a hardware startup), it doesn't even necessarily have to involve much programming.

Re: Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#3

Post by hobin »

Piskvorrr wrote: post #2

A perfect example of the answer can fit into two words: Raspberry Pi.

I'm not sure whether that would qualify as a startup. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is, after all, a charity. But, your point still stands, because I have to admit that if they tried to make money from it, they could.

Re: Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#5

Post by mindcrime »

Launching a new startup that sells hardware is more difficult, due to the increased capital requirements, but I don't see any reason to think that it can't be done, IF you can identify a legitimate need and produce a solution for that need, that creates value for the user. Whether or not you need to write in Assembly I don't know, but if working in C floats your boat, just imagine all the "things" you could build that might - for example - embed an Arduino to solve some problem.

OTOH, if you don't necessarily need to get all the way down to the hardware, but just want to solve hard problems that go beyond doing CRUD webapps, there are all sorts of avenues open to you. AI / machine learning stuff, systems level programming for middleware, VOIP stuff, and gosh-knows-what-else. Just keep your eyes and ears open, think outside the box (yeah, yeah, I know, cliche warning), and keep looking for opportunities.

Re: Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#6

Post by WTPayne »

There will always be a need for people who understand the details. Having said that, building demonstrable product quickly is more important in the early days of an enterprise, so developers really need to be able to switch from one to the other; working at a high level of abstraction early on, when you need to move quickly to disrupt and / or capture a market, then move to a lower level of abstraction to optimize and tune the enterprise to make it more efficient within it's niche.

Re: Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#7

Post by hobin »

wmf wrote: post #4

No, you just have to stop reading Hacker News because they don't know about SolidFire, Calxeda, SeaMicro, Azul, SandForce, Violin, Fusion io, etc.

Fair enough. I can't promise I'll stop reading HN (I probably won't), but do you have any recommendations for other websites that cover more hardware-based solutions? (I do read Hackaday, but that doesn't exactly count, although it sometimes gives me an interesting idea or two.)

Re: Ask HN: Is low-level programming dead?

#8

Post by hobin »

mindcrime wrote: post #5

Launching a new startup that sells hardware is more difficult, due to the increased capital requirements, but I don't see any reason to think that it can't be done, IF you can identify a legitimate need and produce a solution for that need, that creates value for the user. Whether or not you need to write in Assembly I don't know, but if working in C floats your boat, just imagine all the "things" you could build tha…

Oh, I didn't mean to say that I need to write something in assembly or C per se - I've done some Python programming on an embedded interpreter, too. My point is that I like to stick close to the hardware.

I agree with your other point, though. Although I definitely love working with hardware, I'll still take the avenues you mentioned over developing web-apps any day.

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