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by ExpiredLink 4241 days ago
Why are language discussions so futile? Because people choose platforms, not languages. Platforms have one main language (in some cases two) which becomes the language of (no) choice for the developers.

Platform examples: Host (Cobol, PL/1), Unix (C), Embedded (C), classic Windows (C++, VB), .NET (C#, VB.NET), Java EE (Java), Android (Java), ... Rails (Ruby), PHP (PHP), Browser (JavaScript).

The choice is always between platforms, not between languages. Languages without linking to a platform (Go, Python, Scala, D, Rust, ...) have little chance to succeed.
2 comments
EdiX 4241 days ago
I don't see how PHP is a platform like the other platforms you mention. Also Python is very successful, Perl is very successful, Debian was very successful in its time. Your argument does not seem to be corroborated by facts.
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gaius 4241 days ago
Because people choose platforms, not languages.

No, because a language is not (just) a technology, it's a community, and as such, people invest their identities in it. If possible you make an enlightened choice about joining a community that shares your ideas and values and is doing similar kinds of work to you, so they are producing libraries and documentation and hosting relevant and interesting conferences. I often feel that people who lash out at other languages, are people who have come to regret their own choice of community.

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