21–28 of 28 posts
Yeah if my horse was tied to RoR I'd start criticizing people who criticize tools as well.
I completely agree with the idea that we are overestimating the impact of tools, specifically, programming languages. I often see startups that rewrite their software one or more times just because they think that changing the tools is the key to success. They switch from PHP to Python, then from Python to JavaScript then from JavaScript to Go. It's so easy to say "We failed because X language, now we have to use Y".…
I completely agree with the idea that we are overestimating the impact of tools, specifically, programming languages. I often see startups that rewrite their software one or more times just because they think that changing the tools is the key to success. They switch from PHP to Python, then from Python to JavaScript then from JavaScript to Go. It's so easy to say "We failed because X language, now we have to use Y".…
> How many times we have heard that PHP, C++ or JavaScript suck? How many amazing software projects have been built using these technologies?
Languages are better or worse suited depending on the application. How many of these amazing software projects in C++ are web backends? Most of entire Web 2.0 boom has been built on higher-level languages/frameworks like Rails/Ruby, Django/Python, and more recently Node/JS. Its simply not possible for the average software engineering team to build systems as fast and as reliable in something like C or C++. Similarly, the revolution in applied machine learning we are currently seeing would not be possible without tools like NumPy or scikit-learn and the frameworks that have been built on these. On the other hand, 3d game engine code is almost universally written in C/C++.
Sure, choosing between Rails or Django will not matter all that much to your stack in the long run. And its just as important to build a good team around your tech. But the best team in the world is not going to be able to write a highly optimized game engine in Python or quickly prototype new NNs in Ruby.
New languages become popular because they address some need that was not previously met. Understanding these roles different languages play is an essential skill in software engineering.
Writing software is hard but to me the hardest part is always taking a random abstract concept from someone's mind (or worse, several people) and converting that into something "real" in a fixed timeline and budget. There will have to be lots of tradeoffs and miscues by definition. We are always making something that doesn't already exist, it is creation and creation is hard. I do agree that tools (and process and ..…
I completely agree with the idea that we are overestimating the impact of tools, specifically, programming languages. I often see startups that rewrite their software one or more times just because they think that changing the tools is the key to success. They switch from PHP to Python, then from Python to JavaScript then from JavaScript to Go. It's so easy to say "We failed because X language, now we have to use Y".…
> The case when choosing a given language will give you a considerable advantage over choosing another one is very rare. > How many times we have heard that PHP, C++ or JavaScript suck? How many amazing software projects have been built using these technologies? Languages are better or worse suited depending on the application. How many of these amazing software projects in C++ are web backends? Most of entire Web 2.…
Varnish cache is written in c
Writing software is hard yes, but I disagree with the author: I do blame the tools. Every language since C has been created as a reaction. What I mean by this is: > C++ was created as a reaction to OOP being so difficult to do in C. > Java as a reaction to memory management being difficult. > C# as a reaction to Java not being concise enough. > Javascript as a reaction to HTML not being dynamic enough. > Go has a rea…
Writing software is hard but to me the hardest part is always taking a random abstract concept from someone's mind (or worse, several people) and converting that into something "real" in a fixed timeline and budget. There will have to be lots of tradeoffs and miscues by definition. We are always making something that doesn't already exist, it is creation and creation is hard. I do agree that tools (and process and ..…
I will parrot what a professor told me years ago. The hardest part of writing software is proper requirements gathering. He said it was like pulling teeth. By proper I mean the developer knows exactly what the client wants and the client knows exactly what will be delivered. A "meeting of the minds," I call it. I always tell clients this is the hardest part.
I completely agree with the idea that we are overestimating the impact of tools, specifically, programming languages. I often see startups that rewrite their software one or more times just because they think that changing the tools is the key to success. They switch from PHP to Python, then from Python to JavaScript then from JavaScript to Go. It's so easy to say "We failed because X language, now we have to use Y".…
Now while I do believe that some tools are better for some jobs than others, I also think that many times people are just exchanging one set of problems by another without realizing it.