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Going further, it seems like the whole category of alternative languages hit a peak about three years ago, and interest has been dwindling since. It's like cod

Going further, it seems like the whole category of alternative languages hit a peak about three years ago, and interest has been dwindling since. It's like coders got their fix of "new ways of thinking about code", and now have gone back to whatever they feel most productive in. Moreover, the buzziest alt languages now (Elixir, Go, Kotlin) seem to be much closer to existing mainstream languages than the buzzy ones of a couple years ago.

TylerE 9y ago
I think that's more an indication of _just how much the needle has been moved_. 5 years ago mainstream was something like PHP or Java 6.
- falcolas 9y ago
  Err, maybe 15 years ago, sure. 5 years ago it was the same applicants as today, only minus Go and Rust. Python and Ruby were strong in the dynamic region, Perl 6 was still an inside joke, C++ still dominated game development, Javascript was still the mainstay of web development, and so forth.
  - throwaway7645 9y ago
    I don't think Rust's usage is large enough to fit into that category although it is growing and its followers are very devoted.
  - smitherfield 9y ago
    Go was around and buzzy (closer to the peak, even) 5 years ago. Apologies if I've made you feel old!
    - daxfohl 9y ago
      Ha, I'm definitely old. And you're right, the peak in alt-languages was closer to five years ago. Then came alt-databases. Next I think is alt-transactions (blockchain).
tanilama 9y ago
Ultimately, the value of a piece of code is decided by the functionality it offers, rather than what language it is written. Thus, project with 'I made X using Y' formula, while it might be a cool personal achievement, doesn't make it go beyond the confinement of its intrinsic functionality. A web server written in clojure, doesn't make it a space rocket, and certainly not making you a rocket scientist.
- cutler 9y ago
  Alternatively a programming language shapes your way of thinking about a problem which can in turn affect the quality of the end product. If immutable data structures and a functional approach produce easier to test, less buggy code it can be argued those language features contribute to making the world a safer place.

TylerE 9y ago

I think that's more an indication of _just how much the needle has been moved_. 5 years ago mainstream was something like PHP or Java 6.

falcolas 9y ago
Err, maybe 15 years ago, sure. 5 years ago it was the same applicants as today, only minus Go and Rust. Python and Ruby were strong in the dynamic region, Perl 6 was still an inside joke, C++ still dominated game development, Javascript was still the mainstay of web development, and so forth.
- throwaway7645 9y ago
  I don't think Rust's usage is large enough to fit into that category although it is growing and its followers are very devoted.
- smitherfield 9y ago
  Go was around and buzzy (closer to the peak, even) 5 years ago. Apologies if I've made you feel old!
  - daxfohl 9y ago
    Ha, I'm definitely old. And you're right, the peak in alt-languages was closer to five years ago. Then came alt-databases. Next I think is alt-transactions (blockchain).

tanilama 9y ago

Ultimately, the value of a piece of code is decided by the functionality it offers, rather than what language it is written. Thus, project with 'I made X using Y' formula, while it might be a cool personal achievement, doesn't make it go beyond the confinement of its intrinsic functionality. A web server written in clojure, doesn't make it a space rocket, and certainly not making you a rocket scientist.

cutler 9y ago
Alternatively a programming language shapes your way of thinking about a problem which can in turn affect the quality of the end product. If immutable data structures and a functional approach produce easier to test, less buggy code it can be argued those language features contribute to making the world a safer place.