3 ms·

Just because you don't want to work with a language (especially PHP, dunno about Perl) doesn't make you a language snob. If you're closed off to any languages

by j_baker 16y ago

Just because you don't want to work with a language (especially PHP, dunno about Perl) doesn't make you a language snob. If you're closed off to any languages other than your preferred language, you're a language snob. That said, there's nothing wrong with programmers being picky about languages. Not only are languages what we're forced to think in day in and day out, but they affect what tools we can use, how we structure our code, and (like it or not) what jobs we can easily get.

corin_ 16y ago
Snobbery is defined as looking down on anything you consider inferior - for example in social classes, you can have middle class snobs without them thinking that every other class (including the upper class) are worse than them. So no, I'd disagree with your definition of 'snob'.
- j_baker 16y ago
  Dictionary.com seems to see my point of view as being valid: "a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field: a musical snob." Regardless, if avoiding languages I consider inferior make me a snob then I'm happy to proclaim myself a snob.
ryan-allen 16y ago
That is good advice, but what will PHP teach someone exactly? I don't believe it has anything interesting to offer someone who has learnt a number of languages. All it has going for it is that it has low barrier to entry and is a commodity in terms of it's developer and low-end hosting. I consider these as good selling points for PHP but that is all I think it has going for it. I think the social ecosystem of a language is very important, and I think there's more information and quality libraries in Ruby at the moment, so the popularity vote for PHP is a bit moot nowadays for web application development. I try not to be a snob, I try to use 'the best tool for the job' but I don't think PHP is a very good tool. And I'm sorry but as someone who uses these tools all day I do not consider it a good tool.
- Ixiaus 16y ago
  I agree with this strongly. I was a PHP programmer for quite some time, a good one at that. I started itching to move away from PHP beacause I knew of its weaknesses and the expressive beauty of python. Long story short, I am now a web application programmer that solely uses python. The argument that language choice doesn't matter, it's the engineer that matters, is very valid. I'm an excellent engineer in both and produce high quality working code in both. But python is clearer, more fun, and right.
- j_baker 16y ago
  "I try not to be a snob, I try to use 'the best tool for the job' but I don't think PHP is a very good tool." That was my point actually. :-) Just because you don't want to use PHP doesn't make you a snob.

by j_baker 16y ago

corin_ 16y ago

Snobbery is defined as looking down on anything you consider inferior - for example in social classes, you can have middle class snobs without them thinking that every other class (including the upper class) are worse than them. So no, I'd disagree with your definition of 'snob'.

j_baker 16y ago
Dictionary.com seems to see my point of view as being valid: "a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field: a musical snob." Regardless, if avoiding languages I consider inferior make me a snob then I'm happy to proclaim myself a snob.

ryan-allen 16y ago

That is good advice, but what will PHP teach someone exactly? I don't believe it has anything interesting to offer someone who has learnt a number of languages. All it has going for it is that it has low barrier to entry and is a commodity in terms of it's developer and low-end hosting. I consider these as good selling points for PHP but that is all I think it has going for it. I think the social ecosystem of a language is very important, and I think there's more information and quality libraries in Ruby at the moment, so the popularity vote for PHP is a bit moot nowadays for web application development. I try not to be a snob, I try to use 'the best tool for the job' but I don't think PHP is a very good tool. And I'm sorry but as someone who uses these tools all day I do not consider it a good tool.

Ixiaus 16y ago
I agree with this strongly. I was a PHP programmer for quite some time, a good one at that. I started itching to move away from PHP beacause I knew of its weaknesses and the expressive beauty of python. Long story short, I am now a web application programmer that solely uses python. The argument that language choice doesn't matter, it's the engineer that matters, is very valid. I'm an excellent engineer in both and produce high quality working code in both. But python is clearer, more fun, and right.
j_baker 16y ago
"I try not to be a snob, I try to use 'the best tool for the job' but I don't think PHP is a very good tool." That was my point actually. :-) Just because you don't want to use PHP doesn't make you a snob.