From Languages to Language Sets

From Languages to Language Sets After working with a lot of languages, writing my own, this is currently what I consider the most useful classification of programming languages, into 4 levels: 4: Interpreted, dynamically typed: JavaScript, Python, PHP 3: Interpreted, statically typed: Hack, Flow, TypeScript, mypy 2: Compiled with automatic memory management (statically typed): Go, Java (Kotlin), C#, Haskell, Objective-C, Swift 1: Compiled with manual memory management (statically typed): Rust, C, C++ There is a 0th level, assembly, but it’s not a practical choice for most programmers today. Now every language trades off “ease of use” with “performance”. On this hierarchy the higher numbered, “higher level”, languages are easier to use, while the lower numbered, “lower level”, languages are more performant. I postulate that for most programming, the “business logic” kind of programming, we want to use a language that sits right in the middle of that hierarchy. Looking at the lan ... Read full article.