programming languages

2024-10-05T20:16:33

my thoughts on programming languages, last updated Oct 2024

basically guaranteed to change

• javascript: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • goated, 5 stars, absolute chaotic trash that gets the job done. makes great sense at a high level, disgusting but impressive at lower levels
  • if you want to learn a programming language in 2024 you should almost definitely start here
• python: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • absolutely rules, makes sense in similar ways to js. teaches you to code clean, and the produced code just looks and feels noice
  • BUT… so much of what it does can be done with javascript, while you can’t do everything javascript does using python. lately i find myself phasing out my py projects for everything except ML, where pytorch gives python a near stranglehold.
  • do learn this if you want to do datascience or ML
• php: ⭐⭐⭐
  • my original love, the fuel behind WP and facebook. much maligned, but making a comeback . PHP does the job and does it well. if you’re making a website its a 4 or 5 really.
  • it was terrible in 5.6 but that’s the past
• typescript: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • yes, lower than javascript. i personally use it over js usually but it’s kind of a boat car in that you get all the hassle of types with none of the performance gains of a compiled language. still, it helps keep larger projects organized.
  • if you’ve been using javascript for a while, you should probably switch to ts at some point, its really easy to integrate in 2024
  • if youve switched entirely to typescript… maybe consider whether thats always necessary. modern javascript is also very capable
• C++: ⭐⭐⭐
  • amazing, powerful, tempted to give it 4 stars but it really does have its flaws and complications.
  • is it real time? you’re gonna end up using this
  • I will continue using it when performance matters and types are difficult, but lately i’ve been falling for…
• rust: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • the people love it and i agree
  • type safe, fast, looks cool, and man the ecosystem and compiler just rock. that might be the killer feature for me compared to the C++ anarchy
  • i think it could reach a 5 when the ecosystem evolves more. C++ still has a massive head start on things like libraries
• C: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • i can’t claim any level of mastery but nobody can deny C its 5 stars
  • its here, it rocks, its so fundamental that i cant see it goin anywhere
• GLSL: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • my true love language
  • truly we bicker enough that i would give it 4 stars, but there’s just nothing better
  • “simple”, versatile, and amazingly task suited. having the exact function you need, available with a simple name, is such a joy. need to reflect something? `reflect(something)`
  • surprisingly viable as a beginner language due to the limited ‘surface area’
• HTML & CSS: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • how can they not have 5 stars. where’s the competition?
  • seriously try writing raw html and css if you never have, it’s not complicated and it Just Works™
• sh/bash: ⭐⭐⭐
  • simultaneously underrated and overrated
  • you should learn some bash because it makes you a computer ninja
  • if you’re writing more than like 10 lines you should almost definitely just write a dang script in any other language
• lua: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • haven’t actually written much if any lua, but its another language that just seems to do its job (scripting) perfectly
  • pretty please try this before writing your own scripting layer

Languages I haven’t used enough to have strong thoughts on:

• Go: seems cool, i’m trying it out for a project currently. seems great for efficient web services, fast but garbage collected is a cool niche
• Gleam: definitely want to try this but it doesnt feel ready
• Odin: same category as Gleam, especially seems great for visual heavy apps and games
• C#: seems great but its just… never interested me
• Java: same. these are some of the biggest languages but for some reason, meh