Re:Ask HN: How many programming languages are you proficient...
by jasonjmcghee on Sunday October 09, 2022 @06:05PM
(#33145755)
Well put- this resonates with my way of thinking too.
I do think there’s some work you need to put in first to be able to easily pick up a new language.
If you’ve learned a few, you can focus on what’s different about it- but there are some concepts in many languages that take some getting used to.
If you’ve never done purely functional programming before, if everything is immutable in a language you’re using, that’ll add some friction to productivity.
If you’ve only ever used GC languages, manually managing memory will add some friction to productivity.
I do think there’s some work you need to put in first to be able to easily pick up a new language.
If you’ve learned a few, you can focus on what’s different about it- but there are some concepts in many languages that take some getting used to.
If you’ve never done purely functional programming before, if everything is immutable in a language you’re using, that’ll add some friction to productivity.
If you’ve only ever used GC languages, manually managing memory will add some friction to productivity.
Etc.