Re:Ask HN: Do you regret using an obscure language for somet...
by itamarst on Friday November 11, 2016 @05:46PM
(#12935199)
I once wrote a project for a consulting client using a then obscure Python networking framework (Twisted). They had a hard time finding someone who could maintain the code after I left, and had to rewrite it.
In general if you're handing code off to someone else you want to use mainstream technologies.
You can hear the full story and other mistakes I've made over the years over at https://softwareclown.com.
Re:Ask HN: Do you regret using an obscure language for somet...
by wsmith on Friday November 11, 2016 @08:26AM
(#12930339)
No. I once used an obscure, powerful language that was the only language that offered a framework to solve a particular kind of problem. Other languages didn't offer it. It's probably because of how powerful the language was that it attracted the person that had written the framework.
I once also used an obscure, powerful language to solve a very common problem. The language helped me think better and I was able to find a simpler solution than the solution non-obscure, less powerful languages had found.
Maybe what to look for in a language isn't obscurity but power.
In general if you're handing code off to someone else you want to use mainstream technologies.
You can hear the full story and other mistakes I've made over the years over at https://softwareclown.com.
I won't do it again.
I once also used an obscure, powerful language to solve a very common problem. The language helped me think better and I was able to find a simpler solution than the solution non-obscure, less powerful languages had found.
Maybe what to look for in a language isn't obscurity but power.