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Python is one of the simplest language you can learn. It is really nicely designed and executed. If simplicity is the goal, Python has that in spades.

jzwinck 8y ago
Lua is far simpler, and still easy to learn. Yet it's powerful enough to be used in "real" projects (e.g. Photoshop Lightroom).
- SquareWheel 8y ago
  I feel Lua has a lot of anti-patterns which makes transitioning to/from other languages difficult. Tables are unintuitive versus other data structures, structure syntax varies from other C-languages, and oddly it uses one-based indexing. Lua is nice in that it's easy to embed into existing projects, and has an established userbase in game modding communities (Garry's Mod, Minecraft computer mods).
- gerdesj 8y ago
  "Lua is far simpler" - citation needed 8) At some stage I will have to get to grips with Lua (Mediawki) but I believe your comment is completely arse about face. No, I wont give any more justification than my assertion.
- zokier 8y ago
  Unqualified simplicity is useless metric. Brainfuck is about as simple as a language can be, and people can learn it in an afternoon.
  - jzwinck 8y ago
    That's why I qualified it by mentioning a huge commercial product which uses it extensively.
- bsder 8y ago
  Lua comes in quite high on the "Most Dreaded" list of programming languages and has 1-based indices in a world of 0-basing. Not exactly something I would recommend ...
  - jzwinck 8y ago
    I would love to see that list. Have a link?
    - bsder 8y ago
      Here's one: https://www.reddit.com/r/lua/comments/60ynhr/lua_featuring_as_9_most_dreaded_language_on_stack/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lua/comments/60ynhr/lua_featuring_a...
Walkman 8y ago
It's NOT simple at all, see my comment above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17584388 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17584388
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  It's simple in practice to learn incrementally and usefully, even though it's not simple in total. In fact, I think the two kinds of simplicity are often opposed. Brainfuck is simple, but not simple to learn to do useful things in with.

jzwinck 8y ago

Lua is far simpler, and still easy to learn. Yet it's powerful enough to be used in "real" projects (e.g. Photoshop Lightroom).

SquareWheel 8y ago
I feel Lua has a lot of anti-patterns which makes transitioning to/from other languages difficult. Tables are unintuitive versus other data structures, structure syntax varies from other C-languages, and oddly it uses one-based indexing. Lua is nice in that it's easy to embed into existing projects, and has an established userbase in game modding communities (Garry's Mod, Minecraft computer mods).
gerdesj 8y ago
"Lua is far simpler" - citation needed 8) At some stage I will have to get to grips with Lua (Mediawki) but I believe your comment is completely arse about face. No, I wont give any more justification than my assertion.
zokier 8y ago
Unqualified simplicity is useless metric. Brainfuck is about as simple as a language can be, and people can learn it in an afternoon.
- jzwinck 8y ago
  That's why I qualified it by mentioning a huge commercial product which uses it extensively.
bsder 8y ago
Lua comes in quite high on the "Most Dreaded" list of programming languages and has 1-based indices in a world of 0-basing. Not exactly something I would recommend ...
- jzwinck 8y ago
  I would love to see that list. Have a link?
  - bsder 8y ago
    Here's one: https://www.reddit.com/r/lua/comments/60ynhr/lua_featuring_as_9_most_dreaded_language_on_stack/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lua/comments/60ynhr/lua_featuring_a...

Walkman 8y ago

It's NOT simple at all, see my comment above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17584388 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17584388

dragonwriter 8y ago
It's simple in practice to learn incrementally and usefully, even though it's not simple in total. In fact, I think the two kinds of simplicity are often opposed. Brainfuck is simple, but not simple to learn to do useful things in with.