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This is pretty much the point of the article. I have a few reasons to work in (not just learn) close languages. The languages might use roughly similar concepts and syntax and solve similar problems (think, C++, C#, PHP, Java, Go), yet their community, practices, tooling, frameworks are wildly different. If as a C++ developer in 2005 you never experienced how smooth debugging and profiling could be in Java, how fast things could compile, how easy it was to drop a jar and deploy to your server farm, you were missing out. Similarly, if as a Go developer you don’t know how quickly you can install WordPress, write a 200 line PHP plugin, and get an entire business off the ground, you are missing out. Most transformational for me was to be a Common Lisp developer, and find the language that allowed the ideas and concepts in my brain to be turned into prototype at the speed of thought. It’s a challenging language to use in the real world, but it really brought the point home that a language is just a vessel for ideas. |