AstonJ

AstonJ

What are the most 'natural' feeling languages around?

In your opinion which programming languages are simple to use and easy to get started wither those who don’t have a computer science background or exposure to other languages previously? In other words, which feel the most natural - where they just happen to flow: when you think something is going to work, it just does.

Most Liked

AstonJ

AstonJ

I agree pointless bickering is unnecessary as a lot of the time it will boil down to personal preference.

However, there are basic principles to design and that includes in language design - KISS is one such example. It all depends on the goal of the language - for some, being ultra succinct can be a goal, for others, familiarity, while others might aim for intuitiveness/feeling ‘natural’.

On top of that you have how syntax looks, and this is very subjective - some people can absolutely love the syntax of a language, while others might think it looks ugly.

In terms of language design, highly intuitive and natural languages are my favourite. Reminds me of the famous line out of Enter the Dragon; the art of fighting without fighting. I like languages which feel effortless… almost as if you’re not programming at all and certainly not having to constantly battle or feel baffled :blush:

hauleth

hauleth

TBH I find abandoned Quel much more readable, as you can read them top to bottom naturally, which not really is a thing in SQL.

About “easiness” of the language I think that shells are there the one of the most “natural” approaches.

dimitarvp

dimitarvp

It’s only that though – fascinating / a point of interest. IMO programmers bickering over syntax is quite unproductive.

There surely is some neuro-science truth buried there somewhere. As various poets have said: “the difference between the wrong word and the right word is to be described the effects of lightning compared to being hit by it”.

So probably there is a syntax that helps our brain along with the programming itself. But IMO people overdo the syntax disputes.

Where Next?

Popular General Dev topics Top

AstonJ
If you had the ear of a language creator, what would you say - what could they do to make a language that you would use? :upside_down_face:
New
AstonJ
Looking at @siddhant3030’s photo from the Do you blog? thread, do you cover your computer or phone camera as a security precaution? Wha...
New
AstonJ
Just been adding some more portals, currently have the following languages: Apache Groovy C C# C++ Clojure CoffeeScript Crystal ...
New
Exadra37
I am a Linux user since 2012, more or less, and I always use Ubuntu on my computers, and my last 2 laptops have been used Thinkpads, wher...
New
AstonJ
The dev world doesn’t sit still, in fact it is probably one of the fastest paced industries around - meaning to stay current we are conti...
New
AstonJ
Do you think it’s worth worrying about? Do you think it’s going to be an even bigger issue in future? If so what can the teams of smaller...
New
dwaynebradley
In their weekly newsletter, Jared Santo from the Changelog shared this blog post by Mark Ericksen over at fly.io: What is really inter...
New
ohm
I just switched jobs to tech lead with a small team of about 6 other developer. This is my first tech lead job. What do I need to know? A...
New
AstonJ
Slightly different to the What does your mobile phone home screen look like? thread, what is your lock screen image?
New
Margaret
Hello DevTalk Community! Once again, The Pragmatic Programmers are looking for developers who’d like to help shape the future of our boo...
New

Other popular topics Top

AstonJ
If it’s a mechanical keyboard, which switches do you have? Would you recommend it? Why? What will your next keyboard be? Pics always w...
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Rust is an exciting new programming language combining the power of C with memory safety, fearless concurrency, and productivity boosters...
New
AstonJ
Thanks to @foxtrottwist’s and @Tomas’s posts in this thread: Poll: Which code editor do you use? I bought Onivim! :nerd_face: https://on...
New
AstonJ
In case anyone else is wondering why Ruby 3 doesn’t show when you do asdf list-all ruby :man_facepalming: do this first: asdf plugin-upd...
New
AstonJ
Saw this on TikTok of all places! :lol: Anyone heard of them before? Lite:
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Author Spotlight Mike Riley @mriley This month, we turn the spotlight on Mike Riley, author of Portable Python Projects. Mike’s book ...
New
New
AnfaengerAlex
Hello, I’m a beginner in Android development and I’m facing an issue with my project setup. In my build.gradle.kts file, I have the foll...
New
AstonJ
This is cool! DEEPSEEK-V3 ON M4 MAC: BLAZING FAST INFERENCE ON APPLE SILICON We just witnessed something incredible: the largest open-s...
New
Fl4m3Ph03n1x
Background Lately I am in a quest to find a good quality TTS ai generation tool to run locally in order to create audio for some videos I...
New