Friends don't let friends use BASIC!

It is possible to write OK structured code with a BASIC flavor like Visual Basic, problem is that the language, IDE, and the type of programmers it attracts usually lead to... horrible... code. And sometimes, irreversible brain damage. Haven't looked at SmallBasic, but doubt it's any different

Funny thing.

I've heard the same things said about people who use C...and Java...and PHP...and Fortran...

And I have one very good friend (who is a true LISP roshi and code warrior ) who says the same thing about all of them - including LISP.

I think the simple truth is that there is no such thing as a computer language so good that some idiot couldn't code and absolute pile of dingo's kidneys using it. And also no language so bad that a real professional couldn't turn it around and use it to do a creditable piece of programming.

Based on what I've observed over the years, I also think most coders tend to prefer (and defend) the first language they truly mastered (as opposed to merely 'learned') over anything else that comes along later.

While it is very true that some languages are inherently more flexible, elegant, and better designed than others, no one language has emerged that is so superior in every technical respect - or for every class of problem - that it emerges as the single best language for everything.

If there were, we'd all be using it and not having any of these discussions.

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P.S. In the spirit of full disclosure:  Modula-3 will always be my favorite, which is probably the reason why I'm very partial to Python. I'm also a dyed-in-the-wool Forth fan.

<EDIT on 4/20: fixed a minor grammatical error in one of my sentences above.>.