4 ms·

seriously Google probably put a couple billion person-hours just into V8 optimizations, we could have just had a language that makes sense, is efficient, and do

seriously Google probably put a couple billion person-hours just into V8 optimizations, we could have just had a language that makes sense, is efficient, and doesn't have endless footguns.

tiffanyh 2y ago
Lua would be a strong contender.
- tmountain 2y ago
  I think a lot of people would reject any dynamically typed language at this stage.
- thiht 2y ago
  A few years ago before ES2015 sure. But JavaScript has come a long way, it’s a much more pleasant language to work with nowadays. Typescript also plays a strong role with that. Lua used to be marginally better than JS, now JS is better and it’s not even close. Also Lua metatables suck.
  - tiffanyh 2y ago
    Would you mind giving examples of why. Genuinely curious. Would below be examples you were thinking of: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1022560/subtle-differences-between-javascript-and-lua https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1022560/subtle-differenc...
o_m 2y ago
That would just end up being another Adobe Flash which one company controls. Always bet on web standards.
fwip 2y ago
Probably not billions. Each person (at a 40-hour workweek) works about 2000 hours a year. V8 has been around for about 16 years. 1 billion hours would mean (1 billion / (16*2000)) = 31,250 people full-time on V8 optimization. A google search seems to suggest that the actual headcount for the full V8 team (not just the optimization team) is probably in the 3-digits.
- lenerdenator 2y ago
  > V8 has been around for about 16 years. Huh, well, clearly that's impossible. It was first released in 2008, and I'm still an 18-year-old with a full head of hair, faith in humanity, and hope for the future, so it can only have been around for a year or two at most.
wslh 2y ago
I don't think both things compare well: optimizations are a clear target for software and computer science professionals while languages add a personal preference: I love Python but don't like C++ while I prefer Rust over Go.
sa46 2y ago
That's precisely what the creator of V8 did; he created Dart. See the context from munificent, who currently works on Dart: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33524437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33524437
- dbbk 2y ago
  Pretty sure big Google products like Maps are written in Dart, no?
dwaltrip 2y ago
There are two kinds of languages: ones that everyone complains about and ones that no one uses.

seriously Google probably put a couple billion person-hours just into V8 optimizations, we could have just had a language that makes sense, is efficient, and doesn't have endless footguns.

tiffanyh 2y ago

Lua would be a strong contender.

tmountain 2y ago
I think a lot of people would reject any dynamically typed language at this stage.
thiht 2y ago
A few years ago before ES2015 sure. But JavaScript has come a long way, it’s a much more pleasant language to work with nowadays. Typescript also plays a strong role with that. Lua used to be marginally better than JS, now JS is better and it’s not even close. Also Lua metatables suck.
- tiffanyh 2y ago
  Would you mind giving examples of why. Genuinely curious. Would below be examples you were thinking of: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1022560/subtle-differences-between-javascript-and-lua https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1022560/subtle-differenc...

o_m 2y ago

That would just end up being another Adobe Flash which one company controls. Always bet on web standards.

fwip 2y ago

Probably not billions. Each person (at a 40-hour workweek) works about 2000 hours a year. V8 has been around for about 16 years. 1 billion hours would mean (1 billion / (16*2000)) = 31,250 people full-time on V8 optimization. A google search seems to suggest that the actual headcount for the full V8 team (not just the optimization team) is probably in the 3-digits.

lenerdenator 2y ago
> V8 has been around for about 16 years. Huh, well, clearly that's impossible. It was first released in 2008, and I'm still an 18-year-old with a full head of hair, faith in humanity, and hope for the future, so it can only have been around for a year or two at most.

wslh 2y ago

I don't think both things compare well: optimizations are a clear target for software and computer science professionals while languages add a personal preference: I love Python but don't like C++ while I prefer Rust over Go.

sa46 2y ago

That's precisely what the creator of V8 did; he created Dart. See the context from munificent, who currently works on Dart: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33524437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33524437

dbbk 2y ago
Pretty sure big Google products like Maps are written in Dart, no?

dwaltrip 2y ago

There are two kinds of languages: ones that everyone complains about and ones that no one uses.