why isnt there just one programming language?

[rabidmidget]

Let's not also forget the proprietary nature of languages developed by large companies. Microsoft made C# and are heavily pushing it's use. Google has GO, Apple has... I forget, is Xcode a language?

Xcode is a compiler, although Apple is pushing Objective C for the iPhone

OT: Learn how to program, you will soon find out that many tasks require different programming languages and that it is easier to focus languages on specific tasks.

 

[Grygor]

my house mate occasionally asks me questions that i cant answer, this being one of them. some other notable deep erudite questions from him that i'm still working on include:

Don't take this the wrong way, but none of those are actually deep questions.

what is the difference between a duck?

This isn't a question at all. It's the first line of a parody non-joke (specifically, a parody of "what's the difference between X and Y" jokes). It's utterly meaningless without the punchline (which by the way is "one leg is both the same.") to put it into context.

And I would argue that it's a terrible joke anyway, since most listeners notice that it's not a grammatical question and point that out, thus ruining the joke.

how is it that the more swiss cheese you have the more holes you have and the more holes you have the less swiss cheese you have, hence the more cheese u have the less cheese u have?

This is just equivocation, pure and simple. The first part is treating "hole" as a tangible object, while the second treats it as the absence of another substance. The two meanings aren't synonymous, so the third part is not a valid conclusion.

if there was only nothing and ice cream to choose from, wouldn't you choose nothing, since nothing is better than ice cream?

More grade-school equivocation. "Nothing" is being used in two different, non-synonymous ways.

what does x equal?

This statement is meaningless without context. "x" is a variable - it has no value of its own, independent of a context to give it one.

Thus this housemate is not "deep" or "erudite" - he's just a berk who thinks he's clever.

anyways, this being one of the more legitimate questions hes ever asked me, why isn't there just one programming language? i mean they all do the same thing in the end right?

It's no more legitimate than asking why there isn't just one spoken language, since all spoken languages do the same thing (i.e. communicate).

In fact, it's even less legitimate, different things are easier to do in certain languages than in others. For example, manipulating text is easier to do in Python or Ruby than in C++ or assembly.

 

[Folio]

One programming language for everything? Here goes: BINARY CODE. Y'know: 1110001010110 etc.

All the other codes are like Binary's children, watered down for simpler stuff.

 

[Vrach]

anyways, this being one of the more legitimate questions hes ever asked me, why isn't there just one programming language? i mean they all do the same thing in the end right?

Wrong... programming languages work a lot differently.

For a start, same question could be applied to normal languages. Some languages are better for some things, English for example is great for puns, Greek and French rule for swearing and (aggressive) arguing, Serbian is awesome for its read as you write/write as you read simplicity, German is great for mindfucking someone with a word 150 letters wrong, Latin is great for looking like a pompous arse etc.

In a similar way, some programming languages are better for some things. Some are for teaching beginners like Pascal, some are not object oriented when objects aren't needed for what you're looking to do (which is actually a greater number of programs than you might think), some are great at portability between different systems etc. Of course, all those pros come with their own faults and no program is definitely best for every given task.

That said, like with English being the most widely known/used language, same exists in programming - C.

Again, the same question could be applied to a lot of things. Why isn't there a single candy or a single type of food that appeals to everyone and has all the necessary stuff you get from food, proteins, vitamins etc.? Why isn't there a single car that is both good for city roads, racing, traveling, family driving, penis replacement, aesthetically pleasing, etc.

They're silly pointless questions because most of the time, it's far better to specialise and focus on one or few things than to spread your appeals so thin that, for all it's pros, is still crappier than the specialised version. And there's never going to be something that can beat all its competition in every single way, barring of course there being little to no competition, which is always a crappy thing.

 

[xvbones]

1) what is the difference between a duck?

2) how is it that the more swiss cheese you have the more holes you have and the more holes you have the less swiss cheese you have, hence the more cheese u have the less cheese u have?

3) if there was only nothing and ice cream to choose from, wouldn't you choose nothing, since nothing is better than ice cream?

4) what does x equal?

1) A sharp slap upside the head.

2) Another sharp slap upside the head. Playing with semantics does not in fact, decrease the volume of a piece of cheese.

3) Hey hey, vaudeville. Congratulate your friend for discovering a joke that is likely four times as old as he is. Then, give him a sharp slap upside the head.

4) Not enough data to complete this equation. And a sharp slap upside the head.


Contrary to your friend's beliefs, there is in fact nothing clever about nonsense.

Particularly nonsense that averages roughly 60 years old.

But tell him we're all very glad he found that mouldy old "brain teasers" book in his mum's closet.


As for the programming languages bit, I'd suggest your friend stop pretending he knows a damn thing about anything and go read a book about programming.

And then give him a sharp slap upside the head.

 

[Melon Hunter]

Well, if he carries on thinking he's clever by speaking nonsense, I suggest you take care of it like this:

Honestly, people who ask these questions annoy the hell out of me, particularly when you show them why they're wrong and they act like you're the idiot.

OT: Some languages are tailored to specific purposes, and some are more general and they're all at different levels. In theory, you could fulfill all your programming needs with one language, but you'd waste so much time in some areas using a language that's not suited to the task.

 

[Red Right Hand]

There are different levels of abstraction. You could for example, write all the code in machine code, ie. All the little 1's and 0's. But that is incredibly complicated, and time consuming. Ultimitely, it's the most detailed, but still not worth the effort. Now, different languages like Java and C++ are used because you can still write powerful programs that can do different tasks but they basically translate the code that you've written into machine code. Each language has a different level of abstraction, which one you choose is based on whether you want a more powerful platform to code on, with the trade-off being more complicated coding is required. Or you can choose easier platforms which cannot do as many tasks, or do them as well as other languages.

EDIT: This is my understanding of it, and it may well be wrong so if anyone sees any discrepancies, please, do tell.

 

[Cypher10110]

my house mate occasionally asks me questions that i cant answer, this being one of them. some other notable deep erudite questions from him that i'm still working on include:
what is the difference between a duck?
how is it that the more swiss cheese you have the more holes you have and the more holes you have the less swiss cheese you have, hence the more cheese u have the less cheese u have?
if there was only nothing and ice cream to choose from, wouldn't you choose nothing, since nothing is better than ice cream?
what does x equal?

anyways, this being one of the more legitimate questions hes ever asked me, why isn't there just one programming language? i mean they all do the same thing in the end right?

Same reason there are different real-word languages, different systems to express different concepts. There is alot of overlap in both worlds, because of the ability to express the same idea in multiple ways.

In programming most languages have the same basic functions, but have different features to allow users of differing preferences to achieve simple or at least "easy to figure out" solutions for different problems. If hardware isn't a limitation most programming becomes trivial, it is where you're trying to perform a complex task with limited resources where the efficiency of what your trying to do comes into play, and that's where the "big divide" between C based languages and java (or so I understand? - correct me if i'm wrong).

C based languages give you total "hands on" control of the memory you are using, and in a limited system this is crucial to streamlining, whereas java does everything on auto-pilot in terms of memory, so the program will work, but will suffer loss of efficiency under hardware constraints. C will take longer to write, but gives you more control, less "safety wheels", but you have to write in any "safety wheels" to make the program work, so java still has many uses.

I love languages, both digital and "real". Expression in all it's forms is fascinating. I mean games are basically the first type of interactive expression (other than D&D of course), and there is so much possibility out there.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

anyways, this being one of the more legitimate questions hes ever asked me, why isn't there just one programming language? i mean they all do the same thing in the end right?

No. No, they don't.

You may as well say why is there only spoken language, one written language, one way of painting, one form of music, one book, one story, one life...

Quick Tip: BASIC can't handle Linked Lists : EIFFEL takes 1 Meg to print "Hello There" : C will eat your computer if you miss out a semi-colon

 

[Palademon]

There are lots of programming languages because they get specialised for different uses.
/thread