Being Popular
a day ago
- Programming language popularity is driven by expert hackers, not by merits alone.
- Brevity is crucial for attracting hackers; verbose syntax hinders adoption.
- Hackability (allowing programmers to do what they want) is more important than brevity.
- Throwaway programs often evolve into major systems, so languages must be good for quick coding.
- Powerful, well-designed libraries are more valuable than core language features.
- Common Lisp's unpopularity stems from poor libraries and lack of a system to hack, not its syntax.
- Languages need time, a free implementation, a good book, and a target system to gain traction.