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The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

blog.fourthbit.com

11–20 of 166 posts

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#12
Based on the code snippet, I'm not surprised he thinks C# is "verbose" with "lots of boilerplate" and "resembles Java", because the snippet is written as if it WAS Java, or at least written 10 years ago. Compare his GetFrequencies implementation with idiomatic, LINQ version: http://pastie.org/8834650

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#13
Some nice angles in the article, but now I feel obliged to defend C++ (and actually C# and F# too, but I'll let that to others as I'm sure it will turn up in the HN comments) since the author seems to make no real points to support his view of it as a monster.

First of all, it's not because x [1] and y and a bunch of others say that "a == true", you can safely use it as a fact or a way to support your view (those logical fallacies are called Bandwagon Fallacy/Appeal to Authority).

Second: I don't know where those code samples come from, but that is not exactly how you write good C++, as it is called in the paragraph. And a paragraph lower there is mention of the dreaded C/C++ - a thing that does not exist, never has, and never will. Some might say that adds to the author's points (as in, it's so hard he doesn't know how to write it properly), but you might as well say: sorry, but if you don't know how to write it properly then you do not really have the bagage needed to start criticizing it let alone calling it a monster.

[1] esecially when x is called Linus and he's in one of his rage moments where every single being that does not think alike is violently insulted and reduced to the dirt of the earth, with or without arguments making sense :]

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#14
post #12

Based on the code snippet, I'm not surprised he thinks C# is "verbose" with "lots of boilerplate" and "resembles Java", because the snippet is written as if it WAS Java, or at least written 10 years ago. Compare his GetFrequencies implementation with idiomatic, LINQ version: http://pastie.org/8834650

This. I am as anti-Microsoft as the next guy, but C# is one of the few "insanely great" things they have.

edit: I'm not just blowing hot air, I've actually wrote C# code that went into production.

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#17
post #11

I love how F# is among the "unreasonable languages". Why? Because it's "Microsoft trying to be cool", "many of us have learned to keep away from Microsoft the hard way" and "we have enough company-sponsored languages already". That's it.

I was surprised by that one, as I have not tried it, but it does sound like one of Microsoft's nicer efforts when I read about it.

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#18
post #12

Based on the code snippet, I'm not surprised he thinks C# is "verbose" with "lots of boilerplate" and "resembles Java", because the snippet is written as if it WAS Java, or at least written 10 years ago. Compare his GetFrequencies implementation with idiomatic, LINQ version: http://pastie.org/8834650

This. I am as anti-Microsoft as the next guy, but C# is one of the few "insanely great" things they have. edit: I'm not just blowing hot air, I've actually wrote C# code that went into production.

I'm someone who has put lots of C# into production and whilst you're right, caution has to be used when using LINQ. There are several humungous hand grenades that will go off in production unless you really 100% understand how it works (memory ballooning, infinite sequences, total misunderstanding of log complexity, leaky abstractions and difficulty of debugging).

Re: The Best Programming Language (or How to Stop Worrying and Love the Code)

#19
post #12

Based on the code snippet, I'm not surprised he thinks C# is "verbose" with "lots of boilerplate" and "resembles Java", because the snippet is written as if it WAS Java, or at least written 10 years ago. Compare his GetFrequencies implementation with idiomatic, LINQ version: http://pastie.org/8834650

I completely agree. After having used C# extensively recently, and having used quite a lot of Java before that, I have a feeling that C# is what Java should have been/should be.

LINQ alone makes C# infinitely less verbose and 'boilerplate' than Java.

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