Proggit: What is your favorite programming language and why, as of 2009? : programming
Proggit: What is your favorite programming language and why, as of 2009? (self.programming)
Still Python. I have yet to find anything as easy and powerful. I've been working with
Erlang, but that is one ugly language.
What do you think is ugly about it?
Python isn't supposed to be used for that kind of software (shrink-wrapped
"products"). Python's niches are websites, data processing, rapid
prototyping, embedded scripting, anything where Python's many disadvantages are
irrelevant but it's advantages give it an edge.
Anyway, you can distribute bytecode (.pyc/.pyo files) + interpreter packed into an
executable without the source. It might be easier to decompile than C++, but if you're
that paranoid write a bytecode obfuscator.
Lisp, because no other language makes me cooler in forums. I have yet to find any
other language that allows me to be this smug.
Try APL. :)
* Ruby/Python have a real spec, and can compile to performance within a decimal
order of magnitude of Common Lisp
* Java gets closures, and its libraries get a smidgen of design taste
I like C, Haskell and Scheme.
But my favorite language will always remain Forth even though I don't get to program
too much in it these days. The combination of speed, incredibly low memory footprint
and stupefying ability to combine high- and low-level idioms in the same package was
and is amazing.
Too bad it, like a extremophilic bacteria, has been forced out into ecological niches
were the environment is far too harsh for mainstream languages to survive.
Depends on what I want to do...
Face it, there is no programming language which is suitable for all tasks.
I do like c, though, because of the low level control it can give me for certain tasks.
And Erlang is quite elegant for concurrency. Right now I am looking into Python and
Haskell to see what they can offer.
Python. People gripe about whitespace, but I can't remember when I've cared. On the
other hand it's very clean and logical and enables me to do a lot with not much code.
Haskell is my favorite language to mess around in. I don't do real work in it,
though.
Python is my favorite language for real work. Then C/C++ if I need performance... in
the form of a Python extension.
It's hard to pick a favorite as I'm a pretty big fan of using the right tool for the
job. I still do full C++ work if size and portability are critical (well, more like C
with classes, the STL is sometimes not portable enough.) And I will work in Java if
parsing a language, because ANTLR is awesome and its Java support is leagues better
than its support for other target languages.
I guess overall, if I really had to nail it down and pick one favorite, I would pick
Python.
1. C - because I have always been able to do what I needed in a straightforward
and portable way.
2. Scheme - it made me think better
Yup, C and Scheme are two of the most beautiful languages ever created, and they cover
the two ends of a philosophical spectrum.
Both are very simple, clean, and have a consistent style and philosophy.
This are two languages every programmer should know and love, just like their two
bibles: K&R and SICP.
That is why Objective C is so brilliant in my mind. Straightforward C and obvious OO.
I've always thought Java was a ripoff of openstep. Today they go head to head iphone
(openstep derived) vs. Android (java).
OO is evil and stupid.
Note how neither C or Scheme are OO languages, and that is a good thing.
OO has its place. I don't use it everywhere but for GUI and Game development it fits
the problem space very well. It's all about the right tool for the job.
I still like Assembly.
Objective-C because I do Mac and iPhone work.
I really think it is great though, and a real shame it isn't really supported in more
places.
C++. I'm not popular for it.
R, because it lets me do scientific analysis easily.
Gawk and python for system work.
C++ and fortran for expensive calculations.
(Colleagues suggest using python for the first in this list, but I find the depth of
statistical tools in R to be unmatched.)
Still not found anything that lets me work faster than OCaml ...
I prefer SML over OCaml, because it's a far less warty dialect. (IMO) SML is to OCaml
what C is to C++ (although it's not that extreme in this case)
R, for statistics Python for 90% of things tossed my way Django for a web framework
(not really a language I suppose)
C# because it's the one I am using.
Javascript
I like Smalltalk and Lisp for their simplicity and uniformity, although I'm not
actively programming in either one of them.
JavaScript is what I use the most for prototyping because of its Self-inspired
OOP-implementation.
I use C++ for writing desktop apps and I enjoy it most of the time. I miss closures
and proper reflection, but I appreciate its expressiveness.
I also occasionally program in PHP (which I hate) and Java (which I think is useful
but very boring).
I guess I don't have a favorite language.
Haskell, because nothing else gives me the same level of combined real world
applicibility, safety, and expressiveness.
"Haskell" and "real world" can only be used in a book title.
Criticism is ok, but I'd appreciate it if you elaborated on that, instead of just
saying that Haskell doesn't have real world applicability.
haskell, because it's elegant, powerful and keeps me humble.
Ruby, because I didn't think programming was particularily fun until I started playing
with ruby (only had C + Java at university).
The only time I thought of programming as fun was when I had a lecture that involved
some Lisp and Smalltalk. Never did anything "real" in smalltalk or lisp
though
c# gets the job done.
* Limbo: because of its simplicity and C-like flavor while providing the best
concurrency support of any language I know (only Erlang comes close). As somebody
described it: the language the creators of C would come up with if they had thirty
years to polish and improve it.
* rc: The best language to practice the Unix tool philosophy and glue all your tools
together, simple, clean and elegant.
* C: This needs no explanation, other than that I love ken's extensions and
simplifications of the 'standard' C.
Sorry for providing three, but I'm a firm believer on languages that are simple, are
really good in one level, and don't try to be everything for everyone.
C, Limbo and rc cover the full range of programing, from the lowest level to the
highest level. I would add on top of that specialized domain specific languages, but
that would make the list much longer.
Could you provide a comparison of Limbo and Erlang with regards to concurrency? Thank you.
Haskell, Ruby, C++ and R
Objective-C 4EVA!
Groovy, baby! It's a JVM language, dynamic, with metaprogramming and integrates well
with Java. It is very good for internal DSLs. The best part is you can drop it in an
existing java project to make your life easier.
I still like Tcl/Tk the best. I also like Java, Scheme, and Haskell. But I keep coming
back to Tcl/Tk for its simplicity and power.
For fun and glueing stuff together, Python. But the one that's been paying my bills
for the last 15 years is Clarion, (sadly) one of the best kept secrets in the
programming world.
Perl, because it gets things done with little code. Python or Ruby would work but I
don't like Python style (I hate forced indentation) and Ruby isn't different enough
from perl to bother.
scheme, because it's minimal, composable and ductile.