4 ms·

Sure, PHP is full of inconsistencies and irregularities. You know what else is? English.

by atacrawl 15y ago

natbat 15y ago
... and that's why we don't use English as a programming language.
- TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
  Yeah, good programming languages are a lot more like Latin than English. They have rigid grammatical structures and consistent vocabulary.
eblume 15y ago
What English is good at is expressing a huge variety of ideas. I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. I've sometimes heard of programming as an art, like poetry, but if so I'd prefer to maintain that it is a minimalist art that enjoys pragmatism and flourishes when reduced. Put another way - I don't want to write 'A Tale of Two Cities' in PHP, I want to write a website in PHP. Or more correctly, I don't want to write a website in PHP.
- sjwright 15y ago
  > I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. I heard that on the radio, and I've been looking for it for years! If anyone knows the show, ideally the specific show or interviewee, I'd be supremely grateful!
  - eblume 15y ago
    I think it was a Science Friday, if it helps.
- ajuc 15y ago
  > What English is good at is expressing a huge variety of ideas. I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. And LISP is the best programming language there is, even if I don't know most of the other programming languages, because LISP has macros. I highly doubt it anybody is qualified to make such statements, because you'd need to speak fluently every language there is, just to be sure. Seems like somebody just wanted to feel better because his language is the best.
eevee 15y ago
Several people have brought this up. I thought about it for about ten seconds the first time and told them that English is definitely worse. Luckily, programming languages are a bit easier to learn and replace than spoken languages.
tbsdy 15y ago
You know what I've never actually programmed in? English.
billybob 15y ago
English is not a computer language. Expressiveness is valued more than precision. What is the logical difference between "creeping" and "sneaking" and "slinking"? These words differ mainly in "flavor". Ask 10 English speakers to tell the difference and they won't agree. This is fine for poetry but very bad for programs. Ambiguity == bugs.

Sure, PHP is full of inconsistencies and irregularities. You know what else is? English.

natbat 15y ago

... and that's why we don't use English as a programming language.

TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
Yeah, good programming languages are a lot more like Latin than English. They have rigid grammatical structures and consistent vocabulary.

eblume 15y ago

What English is good at is expressing a huge variety of ideas. I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. I've sometimes heard of programming as an art, like poetry, but if so I'd prefer to maintain that it is a minimalist art that enjoys pragmatism and flourishes when reduced. Put another way - I don't want to write 'A Tale of Two Cities' in PHP, I want to write a website in PHP. Or more correctly, I don't want to write a website in PHP.

sjwright 15y ago
> I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. I heard that on the radio, and I've been looking for it for years! If anyone knows the show, ideally the specific show or interviewee, I'd be supremely grateful!
- eblume 15y ago
  I think it was a Science Friday, if it helps.
ajuc 15y ago
> What English is good at is expressing a huge variety of ideas. I once heard someone argue on NPR (sorry, no citation) that English is perhaps the /best/ language at expressing absolutely any idea to another person precisely because it has such a huge vocabulary and so many idiomatic phrases. And LISP is the best programming language there is, even if I don't know most of the other programming languages, because LISP has macros. I highly doubt it anybody is qualified to make such statements, because you'd need to speak fluently every language there is, just to be sure. Seems like somebody just wanted to feel better because his language is the best.

eevee 15y ago

Several people have brought this up. I thought about it for about ten seconds the first time and told them that English is definitely worse. Luckily, programming languages are a bit easier to learn and replace than spoken languages.

tbsdy 15y ago

You know what I've never actually programmed in? English.

billybob 15y ago

English is not a computer language. Expressiveness is valued more than precision. What is the logical difference between "creeping" and "sneaking" and "slinking"? These words differ mainly in "flavor". Ask 10 English speakers to tell the difference and they won't agree. This is fine for poetry but very bad for programs. Ambiguity == bugs.