4 ms·
> language of choice for the working class dev What an incredibly strange framing.
by madeofpalk 7y ago
> language of choice for the working class dev
What an incredibly strange framing.
- FillardMillmore 7y agoSo are you implying that you're not filled with the spirit of the proletariat when you program in PHP?
- andrewzah 7y agoI certainly feel like the bourgeoisie when I use Rust or Haskell.
- speedplane 7y ago> I certainly feel like the bourgeoisie when I use Rust or Haskell. I feel like a peasant sharecropper when I use Java.
- danans 7y agoI think the implication is that PHP is a language that has been accessible to those who didn't join the programming profession via the traditional academic route (CS, CE, EE, or Math degree from a University). And that's pretty well borne out by its history, and is part of PHP's enduring appeal to many people who don't have formal educational backgrounds in the computing sciences.
- tonyedgecombe 7y agoI wonder what it is about PHP that has led to this and whether you could recreate it in a new language without the historical inconsistencies and traps.
- danans 7y agoSome combination of: - fully interpreted - very weakly typed - highly applicable to a broadly desired use case, i.e Personal Home Pages (hence the name PHP) It's not too different from what made Excel such a broadly accessible and impactful 'programming' tool.
- OJFord 7y agoThat was my initial reaction too, but then I found it hard to disagree with (in the general case of course) and instead thought maybe it's an astute and interesting observation. The more familiar slight is that it's 'the language of choice for script kiddies', but I suppose they've grown up and gotten apprenticeships.
- madeofpalk 7y agoI just don't know what separates the working class developers from the "other" kinds of developers. I'm a 9-to-5 working developer, and I don't use PHP.
- OJFord 7y agoWell, in the most broad - but applicable 'enough' - sweeping generalisation I can think of: a degree.