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Why not use python/ruby?
by kburman 5y ago
Why not use python/ruby?
- seanw444 5y agoThe author said he wanted to build something that incorporated the things he learned while going through some "How to build a compiler in Go" books, not necessarily for anything particularly useful.
- chris37879 5y agoPython and ruby wouldn't exist if more people asked that question. Not all code needs to be a product intended for use.
- spicybright 5y agoCan you clarify? Do you mean python/ruby wouldn't exist if people asked why not use an established language?
- chris37879 5y agoAlways happy to clarify something I was vague about. I get asking that question when you're talking about lesser known tech, but when someone writes an entire language themselves, it's a bit disingenuous to think they don't know about two of the largest languages on the planet. It'd be more reasonable to ask "What advantages does this have over the standard library in python or ruby?". A similar question would be looking at ruby or python and wondering why you should use those when perfectly good ANSI C exists. As to the second part of my statement, I hope that's fairly obvious, but I'll lay it out explicity: Not all code needs to be a product vying for market share to be useful. Some code is for the author to learn from, some code is for making art, some code is for shits and giggles to throw into the world on a lark because someone else might do something with it, or learn something from it, or use it to solve that _exact_ bug they've been having in something just cause they see you did something similar a different way.
- donatj 5y agoI'd say the lack of need of a particular interpreter makes this a lot more portable and usable. A tool written in Python or Ruby will always be most usable by Python or Ruby developers. A tool written in Go and compiled to a single binary has no such barrier to entry.