3 ms·
Didn't Python, Ruby, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Perl and PHP all start as essentially side projects or hobbies?
by chc 11y ago
Didn't Python, Ruby, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Perl and PHP all start as essentially side projects or hobbies?
- wpietri 11y agoHobbies are very different than company projects like this. With hobbies, we don't really care about ROI; we do it for the fun of it. In companies, ROI is very important. And naming the successes doesn't tell you much about the odds; you also have to count the failures. One can't justify the purchase of a lottery ticket by looking only at the winners.
- reagency 11y agoRead up on the origins of JS. You will be surprised. It was a rush hack job to.save a company from an existential threat. Like wasabi
- wpietri 11y agoSure, but that strikes me as the exception that proves the rule. JS succeeded not because of language merits, but because it had strong distribution. JS was basically held in contempt for a decade until the platforms and the language matured enough to make it useful for something more than button rollovers and form validation.
- marssaxman 11y agoI've been holding it in contempt for two decades and doubt I will ever stop. Spending some time on a static analysis project for JS recently only reinforced that opinion.
- wpietri 11y agoFair point. Perhaps we can say people have shifted from utter contempt to grudging tolerance?
- marssaxman 11y agoI can agree with that!