Choose Boring Technology (2015)

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by collyw on Sunday February 21, 2021 @09:04AM (#26213489)

I think maintainability is mostly down to developer skill and the ability to abstract to the right level. A good Python dev will likely leave far more maintainable code than an average Java dev.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by jermaustin1 on Sunday February 21, 2021 @09:21AM (#26213606)

> A good Python dev will likely leave far more maintainable code than an average Java dev.

And a GOOD Java dev will likely leave far more maintainable code than an AVERAGE Python dev.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by whimsicalism on Sunday February 21, 2021 @10:32AM (#26214154)

I have yet to see this in an enterprise setting, maybe my standard for "average python dev" is too high.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by lostcolony on Sunday February 21, 2021 @02:10PM (#26216167)

I have yet to see a maintainable Java project of any reasonably large size, anywhere.

Java programs are larger than those in other mainstream languages, just by dint of the verbosity of the language (and research backs this up; studies showing errors per LOC are consistent regardless of the language).

Ergo...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by kaba0 on Monday February 22, 2021 @03:19AM (#26222074)

There is definitely a certain writing style among Java developers that is overly abstract, but there are plenty of examples of properly written code bases as well.

Also, Java’s “verbosity” is pretty much only a constant factor, and not even necessarily in terms of LOC, but width. What research also show is the benefits of static typing. Also, I am fairly sure there is some survivorship bias working in the background, where an ugly java version of a complex domain survived because the language’s great observability sort of kicking it into a working spaghetti code state, while other projects died a premature death.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by gher-shyu3i on Monday February 22, 2021 @12:00AM (#26221033)

In which case, golang should result in even less maintainable code since it is more verbose than Java.

That being said, modern Java is quite terse (var, streams, default interfaces, and now records and pattern matching, etc.).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Choose Boring Technology (2015) by nift on Sunday February 21, 2021 @02:33PM (#26216366)

Can't one always say that? Wouldn't it be more fair to compare equal level of skill?

I mean, in most cases it doesn't really matter what tech you choose as 1. Most products don't really need "massive scale" 2. It's more important to be proficient in the tech you pick rather than it being the "best tech ever". I mean Facebook still uses PHP no?

[ Parent | on HN ]