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PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

polyconf.com

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Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#71

Post by spot »

Blackthorn wrote: post #64
spot wrote: post #62

The best tool for polyglot programming is the Beaker Notebook: http://BeakerNotebook.com Set a variable in one language and use it in another, work with multiple languages on the same page, including javascript, and run them all interactively.

Hey, that's a really neat product! Thanks for linking. I've never even heard of this before and I wonder why.

Thanks! It's a joy to work on and we are hiring, especially front-end and full-stack web developers. Work on open source on github, use angular, based in NYC.

Email me for more info.

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#72

Post by jghn »

bitcrusher wrote: post #68
fragmede wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club. Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three. Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. Once you scale past a pet project and have a decently sized team, specializations start to occur, e…

Bo Jackson was both an NFL and MLB player. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Jackson

As was Deion Sanders, but the GP didn't give football as one of his sports

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#73

Post by cafard »

fragmede wrote: post #43
noir-york wrote: post #17

Shouldn't programmers be polyglot by default . It's like saying there is a conference for golfers who play with more than one club!

Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club. Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three. Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. Once you scale past a pet project and have a decently sized team, specializations start to occur, e…

Somebody has already mentioned Bo Jackson. There was also Deion Sanders (at least I think he made into MLB briefly), and long before either Dave DeBusschere, who pitched a season or two in the big leagues and then had a good career in the NBA.

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#74

Post by cafard »

eitally wrote: post #6
awjr wrote: post #2

Do people really only programme in one language? The simple act of connecting to a database and retrieving data by definition requires knowledge of 2 languages. What I think people do do, is silo themselves onto specific technology stacks (e.g. Microsoft solutions).

I'm shocked you're asking that question. Most programmers are vocational and work for corporations. Most corporations try to force standardization. As a result, most programmers are significantly stronger in one language/platform than any other (whether they have any experience in others or not, which they usually will). As a dumb example, when XMLHTTPREQUEST hit the streets, it was a paradigm shift in enterprise, bu…

I don't live in startup world, but some stuff comes over the transom and lands on our desks. In a given month I might work in PL/SQL, T-SQL, JavaScript, VB.NET, C#, and maybe Perl and Python. Am I stronger in some than others? Absolutely.

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#75

Post by aflinik »

kriro wrote: post #10

Good conference to have in general. I'd suspect most programmers have a natural interest for different languages/paradigms but practically using them in concert often reveals subtle problems. I have a decent background in Prolog (hardly an expert) and know it's often a good tool for the job but often shy away from using it regardless. I hope the "Erlang in multi-lingual systems" talk (all of them for that matter) wil…

If you're curious about the Commodore 64 thing, the speaker is launching a series of screencasts as well: http://64bites.com/

(disclaimer: the author is my friend, but still highly recommended!)

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#76

Post by dragonwriter »

fragmede wrote: post #43
noir-york wrote: post #17

Shouldn't programmers be polyglot by default . It's like saying there is a conference for golfers who play with more than one club!

Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club. Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three. Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. Once you scale past a pet project and have a decently sized team, specializations start to occur, e…

> Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club.

Which is a more accurate analogy than a whole sport.

> Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three.

Among athletes that have gone pro in more than one sport, baseball/basketball seems to be a not-unusual combination:

Michael Jordan is probably the best known example, but also Danny Ainge, Scott Burrell, Nathaniel Clifton, Dave Dubusschere, Cotton Nash, and Bill Sharman.

Hockey is a pretty rare combination with either baseball or basketball.

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#77

Post by dragonwriter »

dagw wrote: post #51
fragmede wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club. Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three. Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. Once you scale past a pet project and have a decently sized team, specializations start to occur, e…

I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those There are a handful of athletes that have played both pro football and baseball, Bo Jackson probably being the most famous. Michael Jordan played pro Baseball and Basketball, but was never a good baseball player

> There are a handful of athletes that have played both pro football and baseball

Well, a particularly large hand:

If you are even narrower than "pro" and restrict it to just MLB and NFL, there are several dozen [0]

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_athletes_who_played_in_...

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#78

Post by d08ble »

spot wrote: post #62

The best tool for polyglot programming is the Beaker Notebook: http://BeakerNotebook.com Set a variable in one language and use it in another, work with multiple languages on the same page, including javascript, and run them all interactively.

Beaker is nice.

I use LiveComment for same purposes.

https://github.com/d08ble/livecomment

http://acpul.tumblr.com/image/116725190130

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#79

Post by Retra »

noir-york wrote: post #61
fragmede wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you think of programming languages as an individual golf-club. Put it this way: Is there a conference for professional basketball, baseball AND ice hockey players? I'm not even aware of anyone who managed to go pro in two of those, not to mention all three. Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. Once you scale past a pet project and have a decently sized team, specializations start to occur, e…

You're kidding right? A programming language is another tech tool in the box. Just like using git, a debugger, Linux, nginx, etc. Do you have different people in your team: one focused on nginx, one on bash, one on Python, one on PHP, and one on algo design? > Most programmers have a preferred domain and language. A preferred domain perhaps. But a preferred language? That smells of sticking to one's (tightly drawn) c…

Preferences are usually a matter of personal opinion. They don't actually need to be justified.

I prefer to speak English. Yes, "language is arbitrary", but pointing that out is kind of missing the point, isn't it?

Re: PolyConf 2015 – A multi-disciplinary conference for polyglot programmers

#80

Post by thirdtruck »

noir-york wrote: post #17

Shouldn't programmers be polyglot by default . It's like saying there is a conference for golfers who play with more than one club!

I think they should be (especially as a polyglot myself), but there's also a lot of pressure to super specialize, and not just from employers. Having a network of like-minded developers is an invaluable psychological and career resource.
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