What's your *favorite* programming language and *why* ?

[Armando]

One of those questions. There are many threads about programming languages here... "What's The best programming language to start with", etc. But...  I don't think that such a question has its own thread.

So :
(1) what's your favorite programming language (whether you're actually using it or NOT, doesn't matter)
(2) and why?

Subjectivity is allowed... [Edit : but... could we [i]try[/i] avoiding as much as possible language wars... and so things like "my language is better than yours", and "your language is the worst" type of thing ? Thanks ]

[Armando]

Forget it... I found a similar thread here

The title wasn't that obvious (or was it?) so I missed it.

Welcome back Armando...  


Ok so we're already getting interesting answers -- different than the other less specific thread.
I'll remove my self deprecating comment...
So let's go : everyone interested to contribute a bit of their experience !

[zridling]

Fortran, the pinnacle of human achievement. 

[Shades]

Hmmm, how to call people who actually like to program in Fortran.....Fortransvestites?   

[/bad joke]

[Perry Mowbray]

Hmmm, how to call people who actually like to program in Fortran.....Fortransvestites?   

[/bad joke]

That's interesting... don't bad jokes require opening tags? Or is that why they're so shocking because they surprise us? 

[Eóin]

Here I go again

Without a doubt C++ because

• it's absolutely everywhere.
• there are libraries availible for everything.
• compiles to native code.
• when you start using modern C++ libraries like Boost you feel like you've truly moved away API and c-runtime coding and are actually working in a high level abstraction layer.
• when you get into some of the really advanced template stuff like DSELs (eg phoenix2) you begin to see the amazing power of the language.

[cranioscopical]

don't bad jokes require opening tags?

I believe the correct terminology is 'oh punning' tags, Perry.

[wraith808]

Ouch.  That was worse than the original joke.

[Stoic Joker]

Ouch.  That was worse than the original joke.

Yeah, that one definitely warrants a prize of some kind.

[Shades]

cranioscopical proves yet again that there is no match for him on this board 

[Tuxman]

Without a doubt C++ because

• it's absolutely everywhere.
• there are libraries availible for everything.
• compiles to native code.
• when you start using modern C++ libraries like Boost you feel like you've truly moved away API and c-runtime coding and are actually working in a high level abstraction layer.
• when you get into some of the really advanced template stuff like DSELs (eg phoenix2) you begin to see the amazing power of the language.

ACK.

[mouser]

I can't say I have a favorite language at this point.. If you had asked me 10 years ago I would have said C++.  I still use C++ more than any other language, and have used it for over two decades now.  But I can't bring myself to say it's my favorite language because i've spent the last decade looking for a replacement language that I could really fall in love with, and still haven't found one.

[Stoic Joker]

I can't say I have a favorite language at this point.. If you had asked me 10 years ago I would have said C++.  I still use C++ more than any other language, and have used it for over two decades now.  But I can't bring myself to say it's my favorite language because i've spent the last decade looking for a replacement language that I could really fall in love with, and still haven't found one.

Not to mention you aspire to create your own programming language, which kinda puts you in a slightly different category (league) than (most of) the rest of us...

For me C++ is a definite hands down favorite. I get cranky if I have to code in anything else.

[slowmaker]

Can 'favorite' apply even if I don't still program in the language? If so, Euphoria would definitely be my answer. I don't actually code in it anymore, but it was my go-to language for essentially everything for many years, and still would be if it weren't for a handful of things that really have little to do with the core language.

Clean syntax, interpreter ease of development, translate to C compilation for faster run, custom type-checking routines, error messages that actually make sense, that lovely sequence data type, mmmmm . Euphoria was one of the few languages I felt I could actually 'think' in, it fit me so well.


If the 'favorite' label isn't allowed for a language I don't use anymore, then I guess PureBasic would be my current fav. My feelings about it are kind of like mouser's for C++, though; I like it a lot, but it's still just the thing that meets my goals better than anything else at the moment. I'm still on the lookout for something that will really knock my socks off the way Euphoria did years ago, but no luck so far...

[Armando]

If the 'favorite' label isn't allowed for a language I don't use anymore [...]

But of course it is !

[PPLandry]

VB6. It just works and you can solve problems quickly without worrying about all the little details (of C++)

Plus it can generate truly portable apps, something C# and VB.Net cannot do

[wraith808]

Plus it can generate truly portable apps, something C# and VB.Net cannot do

For all intents and purposes, .NET apps are portable as long as you are at a certain iteration of .NET on the machine- which depending on what you're using, it will be.  I'd rather deal with the OS having the framework installed rather than the "DLL Hell" I had to endure with VB6 (shudders).  And the idiosyncracies of the language... the only thing I dislike more is Crystal Reports (double shudders).

[PPLandry]

Plus it can generate truly portable apps, something C# and VB.Net cannot do

For all intents and purposes, .NET apps are portable as long as you are at a certain iteration of .NET on the machine- which depending on what you're using, it will be.  I'd rather deal with the OS having the framework installed rather than the "DLL Hell" I had to endure with VB6 (shudders).  And the idiosyncracies of the language... the only thing I dislike more is Crystal Reports (double shudders).

The odds of have the correct version of .Net on a random machine (Internet café, at the office, etc) are quite small. Plus, if you're not 100% sure of being able to run your app, it is pointless. I want 100% probability that when I want to run it, it will run. And a portable application (COM+manifest) will run on ALL XP and up machines, completely isolated from other DLLs (so no DLL hell).

[Stoic Joker]

I'd rather deal with the OS having the framework installed rather than the "DLL Hell" I had to endure with VB6 (shudders).  And the idiosyncracies of the language...

I'll second that one, I automatically pass on anything coded in VB as it always ends up being a nightmare to deal with.

[parkint]

When asked, in job interviews, if I can code in VB my reply is usually:
"Yes.  But I always wash my hands afterwards"

I would like to say that I enjoy many languages.  When I spend much time with Javascript I enjoy it.
Recently, my work has forced me to do a lot with C# and I must give Microsoft proper credit for creating a language with the right 'feel' and not too much baggage.
But if I was cornered to name one language as a true favorite it would be Ruby.

[mrainey]

My favorite language remains Emergence BASIC, even though the developer is selling it because of poor health and future support is a big question mark.

I'm not a hardcore programmer.  Emergence is pretty straightforward for me to understand and code with.  It's extremely stable and creates compact, freestanding executables that run on XP thru Win 7 (and often on older Windows versions).  It has the power to handle just about anything, given the right coder.

[wraith808]

The odds of have the correct version of .Net on a random machine (Internet café, at the office, etc) are quite small.

<.<
>.>

Ummm... what?

[PPLandry]

The odds of have the correct version of .Net on a random machine (Internet café, at the office, etc) are quite small.

<.<
>.>

Ummm... what?

http://www.nbdtech.com/Blog/archive/2009/05/25/what-percentage-of-users-have-the-.net-framework-installed-and.aspx

as of may 2009:

Version   Percentage

none 17%
1.0 0%
1.1 3%
2.0 24%
3.0 30%
3.5 5%
3.5SP1 21%

Or, to put it another way:

17% of visitors don’t have .net at all
80% of visitors are able to run .net 2.0 software without any lengthy download or installation.
56% of visitors have .net 3.0 or later and can use WPF, WCF and WF.

[wraith808]

The odds of have the correct version of .Net on a random machine (Internet café, at the office, etc) are quite small.

So you consider 80% to be quite small?  I've never tried to run a .NET 2.0 app on any machine and not had it installed.  Even for 3.0 56% is decent penetration less than a year after release... I remember when VB6 had been out for about the same time and had less penetration.

[PPLandry]

The odds of have the correct version of .Net on a random machine (Internet café, at the office, etc) are quite small.

So you consider 80% to be quite small?  I've never tried to run a .NET 2.0 app on any machine and not had it installed.  Even for 3.0 56% is decent penetration less than a year after release... I remember when VB6 had been out for about the same time and had less penetration.

It is very good, indeed.

My point was strickly in regards to portable applications. If you carry your app + data on an USB stick, you want to be able to use it anytime, anywhere. Only a COM app + an optional manifest file (whether VB or C++) can guarantee you this. With a .Net app, you may or you may not be able to run your app. You don't know.

If you're out of the office, on the road or in a meeting or something and you need your data, 56% or 80% is just not enough. You need 100%.