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It's kind of interesting (or incredibly mundane) how the feature sets of popular web languages have converged. The examples could almost be typescript (and the
by notJim 7y ago
It's kind of interesting (or incredibly mundane) how the feature sets of popular web languages have converged. The examples could almost be typescript (and the only reason I don't say Javascript is because of the types.) My understanding is that new versions of Ruby and Python also will have (or already have, I don't follow either language very closely) optional type annotations. It seems like the real difference is on the operational/deployment side, which tends to be elided (or only addressed on the surface level) when we talk about languages on HN.
- ironmagma 7y agoThis is why the development of new languages and constant iteration of “reinventing the wheel” (as some say) is worth it, I feel. Ideas from new languages make their way into old standard languages. If over time, every language starts to look the same, that seems to indicate we are honing in on a sort of global maximum. The power and expressivity of programming languages is immense but not infinite (practically speaking), and it is quite arguable that eventually we will find ourselves with no major improvements to make. At that point, it will make sense to settle. Until then, it makes sense to keep building new ones and using them as inspiration for the existing ones.