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ShardPhoenix comments on Open thread, Sept. 29 - Oct.5, 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: polymathwannabe 29 September 2014 01:28PM

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Comment author: ShardPhoenix 30 September 2014 09:22:05AM *  2 points [-]

Prefer:

  • Scala (for large server-side programs). Static types and functional programming, with access to the Java ecosystem/libraries. Some of the more advanced type system features are too complex/abstract for my taste and the most popular build system, SBT, is horrific.
  • Ruby (for quick scripts) . I have a slight aesthetic preference for it over Python but Python would probably be just as good.

Tolerate:

  • Java. Kind of a lesser Scala but with very solid tool and framework support. Java 8 adds some decent functional features but it can still be pretty clunky and verbose.
  • C#. Similar to Java (though I have little experience with it).

Dislike (based on little experience):

  • C++. Too many arcane rules, too easy to screw up.
  • Perl. Like Ruby or Python but with syntax that is much more complex and idiosyncratic for seemingly no benefit.

Mixed:

  • Clojure. Some great features but I dislike dynamic typing for large projects and also dislike the Lisp syntax.
  • Javascript. Appreciate the simplicity of the core "good parts" but is dynamically typed and I don't like the prototype-based object system.

Interested in:

  • Rust. Seems like it could be a nicer language for the cases where C++ is warranted. Waiting for 1.0 to come out before trying.