The Programming Languages We Use

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The Programming Languages We Use

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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January 13, 2023 at 12:00 am

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Programming Languages We Use

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Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004324 More actions · Answer 1

It reminds me a bit of the differences between VHS and Beta tapes. Beta was the better of the two but mostly never got off the ground. Python seems to be "The VHS of Programming Languages".

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004324 More actions · Answer 2

As a bit of a sidebar, I just watched the day 3 presentation that Kimberly Tripp gave. It seems that really old technology still prevails and that technology is SQL Server and other databases.

Databases are the center of the universe. If you disagree with that, turn yours off and see what happens to your business. 😀

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125561 More actions · Answer 3

When ranking programming languages, it's important to consider that some languages like SQL and HTML are domain specific. While certainly not the most robust in terms of functionality or "sex appeal", they are arguably the most "ubiquitous" in that practically every IT organization leverages them heavily. Regardless of whether your code base is C#, Java, or Python - and the end of the day you're just framing around SQL and HTML. Even so called "NoSQL" database platforms like MongoDB and Hadoop now have SQL APIs to abstract developers and end users from their original proprietary APIs which are hard to learn and were never really that popular.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125561 More actions · Answer 4

Jeff Moden wrote:

As a bit of a sidebar, I just watched the day 3 presentation that Kimberly Tripp gave. It seems that really old technology still prevails and that technology is SQL Server and other databases.
Databases are the center of the universe. If you disagree with that, turn yours off and see what happens to your business. 😀

Yes, SQL isn't functionally dependent on traditional RDMS. It's just an abstraction layer for a wide variety of data models, presenting data as constrained sets and standardizing some syntactical rules for joining, filtering, and aggregating sets.

This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Eric M Russell.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Eirikur Eiriksson SSC Guru Points: 182911 More actions · Answer 5

He he he, are you selecting the tool before the job?

😎

"when you have a hammer, every task is a nail"

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004324 More actions · Answer 6

Eirikur Eiriksson wrote:

He he he, are you selecting the tool before the job? 😎 "when you have a hammer, every task is a nail"

Also remember that when you're trying to drive nails, consider using a hammer (or a nail gun). 😀

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

David.Poole SSC Guru Points: 76000 More actions · Answer 7

Python is my "get things done" language. I too found the "Python Is Now Top Programming Language — But Shouldn't Be" article empty fluff.

Python might not be a fast language but in most cases it is fast enough. The most relevant speed to a business is often the speed at which you can deliver business value.

It's interesting that Rust isn't mentioned. Especially given the interest from AWS, Linus Torvalds and others.

I did look at and like GoLang. It struck me as the natural progression from Python and it is the language in which Docker, Kubernetes and Terraform are written.

The surprises for me where Visual Basic and assembly language. I thought Assembly was quite a niche area.

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Rod at work SSC-Dedicated Points: 34007 More actions · Answer 8

As I consider my next career moves, I've considered this topic carefully. I work as a software engineer, writing in C# primarily, then SQL. I also write ASP.NET MVC Core. But I've concluded that I need to get more into client-side scripting. Given my current skillset the best approach for me would be to learn Blazor. I'm very tempted to do that, but I decided to determine what the relative number of job opportunities there are for Blazor vs. other client-side scripting languages such as Angular and React. I asked how hard it is to learn Angular and React. I've been told that React is somewhat easier to learn than Angular. Then I went to the Indeed website and searched for Blazor jobs vs React jobs. When I search Indeed I found almost 400 Blazor jobs. When I search for React jobs, I found over 24K jobs.

So, although my heart is for Blazor, I'm learning React.

Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004324 More actions · Answer 9

David.Poole wrote:

The most relevant speed to a business is often the speed at which you can deliver business value.

That's always true. The problem with that is the panic that ensues when they realize that their batch processes do actually need to complete overnight or sooner because they need to run the process for more than one customer.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

below86 SSChampion Points: 11532 More actions · Answer 10

As someone who started out writing COBOL, and Assembler, it warms my heart that it's a skill in demand.

I mainly use SQL now for everything, using SSIS and SSRS mainly. I haven't learned Python.

I learned Java, JavaScript, HTML and the C variants many years ago. Haven't used any of those skills in years. Back when I did HTML I found the applications that built the HTML for you added so much unneeded garbage I wouldn't use them. This was back around 2000, maybe that's changed.

I know enough VB to get bye on some older jobs that still run.

Long live SQL!! And COBOL 😉

-------------------------------------------------------------
we travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us
Don't fear failure, fear regret.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736173 More actions · Answer 11

Jeff Moden wrote:

Eirikur Eiriksson wrote:
He he he, are you selecting the tool before the job? 😎 "when you have a hammer, every task is a nail"
Also remember that when you're trying to drive nails, consider using a hammer (or a nail gun). 😀

I think much of the time we select the carpenter first, so we need to work within what they can use. I get the analogy, and I've used it. Makes sense, as sometimes we have people selecting tools because they've used them (or like them or are interested, etc.) without considering the rest of the carpenters might not have experience

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736173 More actions · Answer 12

David.Poole wrote:

Python is my "get things done" language. I too found the "Python Is Now Top Programming Language — But Shouldn't Be" article empty fluff.
Python might not be a fast language but in most cases it is fast enough. The most relevant speed to a business is often the speed at which you can deliver business value.
It's interesting that Rust isn't mentioned. Especially given the interest from AWS, Linus Torvalds and others.
I did look at and like GoLang. It struck me as the natural progression from Python and it is the language in which Docker, Kubernetes and Terraform are written.
The surprises for me where Visual Basic and assembly language. I thought Assembly was quite a niche area.

I think the popularity has to do with the installed base. I'm guessing Assembly must be popular due to embedded stuff and games. That one surprised me as well. Maybe it's just a minor part of lots of people's jobs?

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736173 More actions · Answer 13

below86 wrote:

As someone who started out writing COBOL, and Assembler, it warms my heart that it's a skill in demand.
I mainly use SQL now for everything, using SSIS and SSRS mainly. I haven't learned Python.
I learned Java, JavaScript, HTML and the C variants many years ago. Haven't used any of those skills in years. Back when I did HTML I found the applications that built the HTML for you added so much unneeded garbage I wouldn't use them. This was back around 2000, maybe that's changed.
I know enough VB to get bye on some older jobs that still run.
Long live SQL!! And COBOL 😉

Give Python a try. It's very interesting: https://diveintopython3.net/

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736173 More actions · Answer 14

Rod at work wrote:

As I consider my next career moves, I've considered this topic carefully. I work as a software engineer, writing in C# primarily, then SQL. I also write ASP.NET MVC Core. But I've concluded that I need to get more into client-side scripting. Given my current skillset the best approach for me would be to learn Blazor. I'm very tempted to do that, but I decided to determine what the relative number of job opportunities there are for Blazor vs. other client-side scripting languages such as Angular and React. I asked how hard it is to learn Angular and React. I've been told that React is somewhat easier to learn than Angular. Then I went to the Indeed website and searched for Blazor jobs vs React jobs. When I search Indeed I found almost 400 Blazor jobs. When I search for React jobs, I found over 24K jobs.
So, although my heart is for Blazor, I'm learning React.

Good luck. I believe Blazor uses React syntax, with some C# basis, so I'm guessing as you learn more, you'll be improving your skills in a few ways. My advice is to build something you can showcase on your resume. Show how you built something and make a site that employers can examine to see your skills.