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Monday, May 12, 2003

What I Hate About Your Programming Language. Choosing a programming language is rarely ever as easy as making a list of features and choosing the best ones. Like programming, it can be messy and opinionated. Every language has its own philosophy, and whether that fits your own mind is often a matter of taste. [O'Reilly Network Articles] A fun piece, looking at why we choose different programming languages, complete with the author's reasons for hating a number of popular languages. I also like the advice from The Pragmatic Programmers who recommend learning a new language every year. Good advice, and I've come close recently, though it depends on how strictly you mean "learn." But learning a new language well enough to write non-trivial applications is really a lot of fun. On the other hand, I've been thinking lately about how after a good amount of time spent on a language, you develop a deep set of knowledge (and code library) that you don't get if you switch from language to language too often. 10:21:37 PM  Permalink  comment []

Fishing for Clarity in the Waters of Consciousness. Do fish feel pain? It all has to do with the notion of "nociception," and is somehow a matter of consciousness. By James Gorman. [New York Times: Science] 10:04:12 PM  Permalink  comment []

© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.