This question was asked almost 10 years ago on HN, I thought it would be interesting to ask it for a 2nd time to see what’s changed since then. Perhaps Original Ask HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11001693
I couldn’t think of a better word than ‘unfashionable’ but what I mean by this is a programming language that is not new, upcoming, or has much traction.
The language may have unique or novel features, it may be a language with a passionate and dedicated band of programmers. But one thing the language does not have is much ‘mindshare’ amongst programmers: its time in the spotlight has passed. It may still be in active development, or it may be moribund.
Examples of ‘unfashionable’ languages include: Cobol, Snobol, Icon, Unicon, Forth, Pascal, Eiffel, D, Smalltalk, Basic etc.(Note, I realize this is subjective to a degree.)
If you use an ‘unfashionable’ language, what keeps you using it? It is a unique feature? Is it familiarity or comfort? Is it speed or performance or some other quality? What do you think we could learn from that language when developing programming languages today?
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45873180
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Source: news.ycombinator.com
