Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by SPBS 2046 days ago
I wouldn't say that it is cringey, but I agree with the sentiment. It always seemed kind of weird that programmers would attach themselves and identify with a programming language tribe, even though they are very well capable of learning other languages and frequently do.
3 comments
chrismorgan 2046 days ago
Yet each language does have defining characteristics, and you work differently in different languages. I regularly write both Rust and JavaScript, and I will design and architect things quite differently between the languages, playing to the strengths of each language. So languages are fairly tribal in this way, and in others also once you add the rest of their ecosystem.
link
arethuza 2046 days ago
Code that is written in one language in the style of another can be "interesting" - I once ported code that was Common Lisp written in the style of Occam... Also saw C sources that did the cpp thing of trying to make C look like Pascal, fortunately managed to avoid working on that!
link
st1x7 2046 days ago
The terms also emerge for certain languages with a specific type of community around them. For example, I don't know if C++ developers really care enough to give themselves these kinds of labels.
link
golergka 2046 days ago
Most don't love the language that much.

I'm not implying that it's a bad language though. Like Java, it's a very widely used language in enterprise and industry, and I think that most of the programmers in those languages view programming as just a 9-to-5, white collar job that puts food on the table. Nothing wrong with this view either, but it's not the kind of environment that would create memes or inside jokes.

Rust, Haskell or Ocaml, on the other hand, are exactly the kind of languages that passionate programmers, that spend a lot of time in chatrooms and on forums like HN, would spend their time on.

link
ReactiveJelly 2046 days ago
That makes sense.

My enthusiasm for Rust is _because_ it lets me escape from C++. It's probably the same for Python and Go users.

link
eru 2046 days ago
Well, I sometimes use labels like these, but only in terms of 'what hat am I currently wearing'?
link