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The name of the site is "lang pop". When the page loads the title bar says "Programming Language Popularity". The content of the page states: "We have attempte

The name of the site is "lang pop". When the page loads the title bar says "Programming Language Popularity". The content of the page states: "We have attempted to collect a variety of data about the relative popularity of programming languages, mostly out of curiousity." Those are claims that what they are measuring is a proxy for language popularity. My point is that those claims are not valid.

chancho 18y ago
You're inferring things based on your own bias. Nowhere on that page did I get the impression that they even believe, much less claim that those data are representative of true language popularity. They claim its impossible to measure. What is popularity anyway? Number of users? Programs? Bytes? A critical reader would want a definition of that term before drawing any conclusions, and if you read beyond the first paragraph you'll find that they define the what they are measuring precisely. Basically you're complaining that they didn't do enough to discourage lazy brains from jumping to conclusions.
- scottdw2 18y ago
  The sections that describe the measurements say things like: "This is a fairly crude approximation of popularity, however, it's worth including, because all other things being equal, the more popular a language is, the more pages will exist mentioning it." "Popular languages are used more in industry, and consequently, people post job listings that seek individuals with experience in those languages. " "Books are also a lagging indicator, but a good way to eliminate languages that aren't "established"." Those statements indicate that the measurements are proxies for language popularity. My point is that those statements are not true, that the numbers do not serve as proxies for language popularity. They are not crude proxies, they are not lagging proxies, or any other form of proxy. Most conclusions you could draw from the numbers would be wrong.

chancho 18y ago

You're inferring things based on your own bias. Nowhere on that page did I get the impression that they even believe, much less claim that those data are representative of true language popularity. They claim its impossible to measure. What is popularity anyway? Number of users? Programs? Bytes? A critical reader would want a definition of that term before drawing any conclusions, and if you read beyond the first paragraph you'll find that they define the what they are measuring precisely. Basically you're complaining that they didn't do enough to discourage lazy brains from jumping to conclusions.

scottdw2 18y ago
The sections that describe the measurements say things like: "This is a fairly crude approximation of popularity, however, it's worth including, because all other things being equal, the more popular a language is, the more pages will exist mentioning it." "Popular languages are used more in industry, and consequently, people post job listings that seek individuals with experience in those languages. " "Books are also a lagging indicator, but a good way to eliminate languages that aren't "established"." Those statements indicate that the measurements are proxies for language popularity. My point is that those statements are not true, that the numbers do not serve as proxies for language popularity. They are not crude proxies, they are not lagging proxies, or any other form of proxy. Most conclusions you could draw from the numbers would be wrong.