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"It is one of two official languages used at Google and it does power a lot of their most profitable products." One of 2? I thought 4: Java, Python, C++, Javas

by schtog 18y ago

"It is one of two official languages used at Google and it does power a lot of their most profitable products." One of 2? I thought 4: Java, Python, C++, Javascript. And does it really power a lot of their most profitable products? Like which? (Not bashing here, Python is my main language and I love it.)

bdotdub 18y ago
Haha I thought Google has only one profitable product, AdSense :) That said, a number of their high profile apps are in Python, most notably YouTube and App Engine.
jimbokun 18y ago
My understanding is that Python is their go-to scripting language, for tying together all their low level tools that run in C++ and Java.
whacked_new 18y ago
To be blunt and disrespectful, after seeing the author confusing Cantonese and Mandarin, I am quite skeptical of the assertions.
- BigCanOfTuna 18y ago
  Oh, give me a break! I did approve the comment by the user who pointed out the mistake, kindly thanked him, AND struck the comment rather than try to hide it like so many other revisionist bloggers out there.
  - whacked_new 18y ago
    Pardon me for that, and I was aware of the undertones, but I still didn't see anything particularly informative, especially provided that you submitted this blog to HN: it is almost a given that everybody here programs to some degree. You did not make a strong case for any of your assertions. You merely asserted. This is different if your audience is, I dunno, designers, or people wanting to get their feet wet. That is certainly not the case in this forum. Also, a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort to even just become functional in it. If you are thinking in terms of managing a foreign dev team with your foreign language skills, you're thinking in terms of several years. Not just "in 2009." Maybe I have a bad temper today, but as you said you have over 10 years of OOP experience, one would expect something jucier.
    - BigCanOfTuna 18y ago
      You didn't find it informative? That's unfortunate. What is the audience of this forum. Looking through your list of submitted articles reveals no indication. For instance, your last submission was "Japanese Convenience Stores Thrive Despite Economic Downturn." Foreign languages are very hard to learn. I know, I speak three. I didn't say anything about managing a foreign dev team, just that you should learn a new language. The world is flattening and I don't always want to speak English. I don't know how 10 years of OOP correlates to a "juicy" blog post. All I can say is that in 13 hour, with close to 3500 unique visits, some people found it interesting.
      - whacked_new 18y ago
        Alright, well, I just expressed an opinion inelegantly, but may it remain just one. I'll stop trolling already.
    - xiaoma 18y ago
      Also, a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort to even just become functional in it. I'll second that. I see a new westerners come here to Taiwan every year, many with grandiose goals of "mastering" Chinese. So far, it has broken every one of them, including myself. After six years, I can muddle my way through the Apple Daily and converse at a native-like level about topics I'm very familiar with, but all my illusions of becoming "literate" or "speaking flawlessly" died long ago. Even now my Chinese isn't sufficient to get me a job without the benefit of having my English skills as well. Learning Chinese has been great on a personal level, but in terms of career, it was one of the most expensive decisions I've ever made.

by schtog 18y ago

bdotdub 18y ago

Haha I thought Google has only one profitable product, AdSense :) That said, a number of their high profile apps are in Python, most notably YouTube and App Engine.

jimbokun 18y ago

My understanding is that Python is their go-to scripting language, for tying together all their low level tools that run in C++ and Java.

whacked_new 18y ago

To be blunt and disrespectful, after seeing the author confusing Cantonese and Mandarin, I am quite skeptical of the assertions.

BigCanOfTuna 18y ago
Oh, give me a break! I did approve the comment by the user who pointed out the mistake, kindly thanked him, AND struck the comment rather than try to hide it like so many other revisionist bloggers out there.
- whacked_new 18y ago
  Pardon me for that, and I was aware of the undertones, but I still didn't see anything particularly informative, especially provided that you submitted this blog to HN: it is almost a given that everybody here programs to some degree. You did not make a strong case for any of your assertions. You merely asserted. This is different if your audience is, I dunno, designers, or people wanting to get their feet wet. That is certainly not the case in this forum. Also, a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort to even just become functional in it. If you are thinking in terms of managing a foreign dev team with your foreign language skills, you're thinking in terms of several years. Not just "in 2009." Maybe I have a bad temper today, but as you said you have over 10 years of OOP experience, one would expect something jucier.
  - BigCanOfTuna 18y ago
    You didn't find it informative? That's unfortunate. What is the audience of this forum. Looking through your list of submitted articles reveals no indication. For instance, your last submission was "Japanese Convenience Stores Thrive Despite Economic Downturn." Foreign languages are very hard to learn. I know, I speak three. I didn't say anything about managing a foreign dev team, just that you should learn a new language. The world is flattening and I don't always want to speak English. I don't know how 10 years of OOP correlates to a "juicy" blog post. All I can say is that in 13 hour, with close to 3500 unique visits, some people found it interesting.
    - whacked_new 18y ago
      Alright, well, I just expressed an opinion inelegantly, but may it remain just one. I'll stop trolling already.
  - xiaoma 18y ago
    Also, a foreign language takes a lot of time and effort to even just become functional in it. I'll second that. I see a new westerners come here to Taiwan every year, many with grandiose goals of "mastering" Chinese. So far, it has broken every one of them, including myself. After six years, I can muddle my way through the Apple Daily and converse at a native-like level about topics I'm very familiar with, but all my illusions of becoming "literate" or "speaking flawlessly" died long ago. Even now my Chinese isn't sufficient to get me a job without the benefit of having my English skills as well. Learning Chinese has been great on a personal level, but in terms of career, it was one of the most expensive decisions I've ever made.