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NewsWindows 8.x still nowhere near as popular as Windows XP Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 5:59
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 5:59 
NewsIs AngularJS ready for the enterprise? Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 5:21
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 5:21 
GeneralRe: Is AngularJS ready for the enterprise? Pin
Mario Vernari1-Mar-15 5:57
Mario Vernari1-Mar-15 5:57 
GeneralRe: Is AngularJS ready for the enterprise? Pin
JMK-NI1-Mar-15 13:19
professionalJMK-NI1-Mar-15 13:19 
GeneralRe: Is AngularJS ready for the enterprise? Pin
Dan Neely2-Mar-15 2:51
Dan Neely2-Mar-15 2:51 
GeneralRe: Is AngularJS ready for the enterprise? Pin
Kent Sharkey2-Mar-15 4:21
staffKent Sharkey2-Mar-15 4:21 
NewsThe myth of ‘Serious’ code Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:56
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:56 
GeneralRe: The myth of ‘Serious’ code Pin
PIEBALDconsult1-Mar-15 8:37
mvePIEBALDconsult1-Mar-15 8:37 
Quote:
Ruby’s Goals: “beauty, simplicity, and developer happiness.”


That's a joke; not a serious goal.


Quote:
Because execution time is easily measurable (and people love optimizing things they can measure), ‘fast’ languages like C tend to sit at the top of people’s mental hierarchy as the most ‘serious’ of programming languages.

This is the myth


I agree with that; it's not about speed.


Quote:
Languages like Ruby allow programmers to do more with less code, making them faster for the developer. Increased developer-speed means it’s faster to find out whether anyone wants what you’re making, easier to add the features users request, and easier to finish your project with fewer developers.


Getting closer; but that's not it either.


Quote:
This diversity of needs, then, makes a strong argument for the importance of a diversity of programming languages with diverse design goals.


Also true, but that can only help us group languages and then determine the seriousness of languages within a group.


Quote:
The whole purpose of coding languages is to help anyone build or accomplish cool things more easily. Use whatever language helps you accomplish this most quickly and most completely.


No, "more easily" is not truly the goal (although I do appreciate how C# makes things much easier than C, C++, and even VB). And I certainly hope he rolled robustness, maintainability, and stability into "completely".

To return to the discussion of the benefits of high level languages over machine code -- developer speed is actually a side-effect, the real benefit is in reduced maintenance cost, including the portability that was a primary goal. Increase portability, readability, add strong data typing, and you improve maintainability, which reduces the coding burden on the developers. Please don't take the following out of context: "Speed" is distance-through-time. Rather than focussing on decreasing the time used for the distance, it's better to decrease the distance, and reap the savings in time while achieving the same speed.


In fact, I don't think "seriousness" is really an attribute of the language itself, but of the practitioners -- is a language "for serious developers" or is it a toy, a learning language, something for quick Proof-of-Concept development?

To expand on that, and to relate this to the quote about "developer speed", you need to bear in mind that code is generally written once and read many times. "Developer speed" can lead to unreadable code. Whereas a language that lends itself to discipline and clarity of thought can lead to lessened cost of maintenance.


Relevant adages:
A stitch in time saves nine.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
NewsInvented here syndrome Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:54
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:54 
GeneralRe: Invented here syndrome Pin
PIEBALDconsult1-Mar-15 7:16
mvePIEBALDconsult1-Mar-15 7:16 
NewsASP.NET 5 cross platform - but is it still ASP? Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:40
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:40 
GeneralRe: ASP.NET 5 cross platform - but is it still ASP? Pin
JMK-NI1-Mar-15 4:55
professionalJMK-NI1-Mar-15 4:55 
NewsCompany with no product wins $533M verdict vs. Apple, says it’s no “patent troll” Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:38
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:38 
GeneralRe: Company with no product wins $533M verdict vs. Apple, says it’s no “patent troll” Pin
Mike Hankey1-Mar-15 6:54
mveMike Hankey1-Mar-15 6:54 
GeneralRe: Company with no product wins $533M verdict vs. Apple, says it’s no “patent troll” Pin
Duncan Edwards Jones1-Mar-15 12:04
professionalDuncan Edwards Jones1-Mar-15 12:04 
GeneralRe: Company with no product wins $533M verdict vs. Apple, says it’s no “patent troll” Pin
Dan Neely1-Mar-15 16:36
Dan Neely1-Mar-15 16:36 
NewsMicrosoft's Collective Project wants students to change the world Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:37
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:37 
NewsOne in three of the world's population now owns a smartphone Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:18
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:18 
GeneralRe: One in three of the world's population now owns a smartphone Pin
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz2-Mar-15 4:42
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz2-Mar-15 4:42 
NewsIKEA will start selling wireless charging lamps and tables Pin
Kent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:17
staffKent Sharkey1-Mar-15 4:17 
News"Ten Simple Rules for Lifelong Learning, According to Hamming" Pin
BillWoodruff28-Feb-15 2:05
professionalBillWoodruff28-Feb-15 2:05 
NewsHistory of the browser user-agent string Pin
Dan Neely27-Feb-15 3:12
Dan Neely27-Feb-15 3:12 
GeneralRe: History of the browser user-agent string Pin
Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan27-Feb-15 4:00
professionalAfzaal Ahmad Zeeshan27-Feb-15 4:00 
GeneralRe: History of the browser user-agent string Pin
kmoorevs27-Feb-15 10:39
kmoorevs27-Feb-15 10:39 
GeneralRe: History of the browser user-agent string Pin
Dan Neely27-Feb-15 11:18
Dan Neely27-Feb-15 11:18 

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