> I find myself jumping between languages far too often to trust myself to use the correct syntax on the first try, so much so that I consider in-editor linting to be an indispensable tool.

I've been sorely tempted several times to:

1. pick one syntax for things like array initialization, ranges, for loops, string quoting, and various other things that are all reasonably similar from a functionality point of view in Perl, PHP, Python, and JavaScript but use different enough syntax that I sometimes forget which one is right,

2. start writing my Perl, PHP, Python, and JavaScript using that syntax, and

3. write some sort of preprocessor that takes in files that are Perl, PHP, Python, and JavaScript but that use my syntax instead of the native syntax, and replaces my syntax with native syntax.

I usually didn't go ahead with it because I just figured I was being silly and everyone would make fun of me. :-)

But now it seems quite common for people to define new languages that are just existing languages with some better syntax or other features and that are translated back to the original language.

So now I don't do it because I assume someone else will do it soon, and I'll be happy to just grab theirs and use it.