Breating the Averages (Commentary)

I've never thought of programming languages being more or less powerful than each other, my usual thought pattern when choosing a programming language has always been (and most likely be until the day I die): "me likey, me usey". Power has always been a matter of syntax for me, and I still get confused when it comes to power and programming languages.

Yes, I have a very vague perception of power and its relation to speed when it comes to compiling, obviously C gets compiled quicklier than Python due to it being nearier to hardware level. But, when people say that LISP is the most powerful language, where are they coming from? I think I may have an idea.

At first contact, LISP seems like a no-nonsense language, every written block is made with a very efficient and classy alure. No extra lines, no prints necessary, no return statements, you want to know what 2+2 equals? (+ 2 2)  there you go, enjoy your 4. LISP gives you the tools (or, actually, no tools at all) to write complex functions in very few lines of code. On top of it all, LISP's code is highly maintainable, with only a few lines to analyze, you should be sure that if a block is doing it's job properly, then there is no better way for it to do it.

Its no wonder Viaweb could take off with such an unused little gem of the developing world, thanks to recurssion, LISP code basically writes itself. Not sure if there's such thing as a "most powerful" programming language, but, LISP comes very close to achieving this.

The Semicolon Wars (Commentary(hate I Lisp))

I have already mentioned how the IT industry is a thriving colony of oddballs and nerds. This assertion may make it sound like a place not accessible to any other mortal individual, but, in truth, the IT industry is a microcosmos in all rights, there will always be a diversity of opinions on varying subjects such as Operating Systems, hardware models or brands, and, as it has been proven to be anthropologically logical, programming languages.

I'm guilty of participating in these (sometimes asinine, I must admit) goofy debates over wether Java is a better platform for Android development than Swift (this was a project at some point, and I'm grateful for its failure), or why I  always end my statements with a semicolon even if I'm writing an essay on Microsoft Word; It's only natural for human beings to be so set on their opinions and dogmas when it comes to the "correct" way to do things, but, in the end, there's no true "best language", they all serve a different purpose and it is wise to learn as many as them as possible if even at a very basic level.

One of the sparkling gems of this particular article is the brief explanation of the different programming paradigms, the meaning of "functional programming" (or the pursuit thereof) vexes me, but this does a good job at least explaining what LISP and other languages are used for. 

I think I'll stick to Java and other clunky object-oriented languages like C#, at least those guarantee I won't end up breaking my '(' and ')' keys.

Triumph of the nerds Part I: Impressing their friends (Commentary)

I have always been a fan of the unusual siliness surrounding the IT industry. It's uncanny how an industry usually displayed as "gray" or "lifeless" can contain such witty quirks as naming your first program "Hello World" or the implementation of unusual (mainly useless) methods such as Android's isUserAGoat(). After watching this documentary it is no longer a mystery for me from where do these excentric outbursts come.

Nerds, the pariahs of academic life, those who take shelter in their own hobbies and interest from life's more serious aspects. They are responsible for the creation and accidental proliferation of one of the most substantial aspects of our daily lives in this day and age. Why do I call it "accidental"? We can see how the IT industry began with a bunch of hobyists toying around with machines and gadgets, mainly just having fun and, of course, in the process, as it is natural of any kind of playtime, their excentricities were impregnated in the very foundation of the IT industry. It is too late to change the silly nature of programming, just look at the pletora of so-called esoteric programming languages that spawn every other day. The IT industry is still a paradise for nerds and hobyists, and that's the way it has been growing, specially when it comes to the open source cult, but that's another topic entirely.

It is funny (and extremely moving, if not cheesy) how inspiration and the desire to have fun could give birth to such a big and economically monstruous industry, just by toying around with old mathematical concepts and a big ugly gray box. The history of modern computing is the history of childhood itself, and our child in question is just about to reach puberty and the changes to come, promise to be big.

About me

This blog is entirely dedicated to the asignature of programming languages imparted by Profesor Ariel Ortíz Ramírez. It will be updated weekly with the topics corresponding to each session.

My name is Francisco Geada Rodríguez, I'm a student majoring in computer systems,  free lancer android developer,  radio DJ, gamer, son, brother, and friend depending on who you're asking.

My interests include but are not limited to music, videogames, literature, history, comics, movies, philosophy, science, and computer sciences, and my hobbies are playing videogames (I could end the list here, I spend a lot of my time playing videogames), learning to code, playing guitar, reading, writing (in a very amateur fashion), and watching movies

I have a black cat named Mikael who I love very dearly, two dogs, as well as two younger brothers. I speak english, spanish, german (to some extent) and french (to a lesser extent than german), and the programming languages I feel comfortable with are Java, Ruby, C#, C, and Python,  I'm also currently learning Javascript.

I look forward to this course because, so far, we have only seen the practical side of programming, a code monkey's job, so to say, and we have only seen some very few paradigms.