A writer named Eric examines where the 'else' keyword in programming languages came from, noting that 'else' is not used as a conjunction in ordinary English speech. He traces conditional logic back to 1946 work on the Eniac computer by Haskell Curry and Willa Wyatt, who called the concept 'discrimination' rather than 'else', and follows how conditional jump instructions evolved as computers moved from plugboard wiring to stored-program memory.
github.com
· 2026-10-25
In a short essay, computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra critiques the idea of programming computers using natural human language instead of formal symbolic languages. He traces the history of programming languages, noting how high-level languages improved error detection compared to machine code, but argues that the underlying machines remain literal and unforgiving 'slaves' regardless of the language used. Dijkstra contends that proposals to let people instruct machines in their native tongue misunderstand the fundamental nature of programming.
cs.utexas.edu
· 2026-10-23
A commentary addresses the question of whether Ruby on Rails remains relevant now that large language models can generate code cheaply in any language, including proposals to rewrite applications in Rust. The author argues that frameworks, libraries, databases and operating systems remain useful because the productivity benefits they offer developers—structure, security updates, avoiding reinvented wheels—apply equally to LLMs writing code.
tech.dirkjonker.nl
· 2026-10-19
TIOBE's October 2026 language popularity rankings show R overtaking SQL in the top 10, while Julia returns to the top 20 for the first time in three years, climbing from No. 21 to No. 18. Go fell out of the top 10, dropping from No. 8 a year ago to No. 11, and Delphi/Object Pascal tumbled from No. 9 to No. 19. Python, C, C++, Java, C#, and JavaScript retain their top-six spots, Rust holds at No. 10, and Dart and OCaml both surged toward the top 20.
developers.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-18
A developer writing about AI-assisted coding argues that the non-deterministic nature of large language model output, long seen as a barrier to reliable software development, is not actually a problem. The author explains that code is simply one possible output among many valid paths to a correct result, and that LLMs function as actors within a system rather than as a replacement for precise, deterministic instructions.
sklar.rocks
· 2026-10-14
Niklaus programming-language researcher nikomatsakis published a blog post arguing that Rust remains well-suited to agentic, AI-assisted development, citing data showing Rust's rapid adoption growth. He references David Tolnay's observation that Meta engineers wrote twice as much first-party Rust code this year as in the previous nine years combined.
smallcultfollowing.com
· 2026-10-14
A blogger reflects on how the rise of AI coding assistants like Claude Code, released just over a year ago, has reshaped software engineering. The author says they initially expected to keep pursuing technical writing and open-source coding as personal, intellectually fulfilling pursuits even as AI took over professional coding work, but found that community discourse around the craft has grown shallower and more repetitive, shifting from compilers and type systems to talk of 'prompts' and 'harnesses'.
borretti.me
· 2026-10-09
A technical writing blog post coins the term 'polyglot docs site' to describe documentation projects that must combine outputs from multiple language-specific API reference generators into one unified site. The author argues these sites require special effort to keep fonts, colors, and search functionality consistent across tools built for different programming languages, despite the underlying code libraries being loosely coupled.
technicalwriting.dev
· 2026-10-09
A software commentator examines why Lisp code, with its uniform prefix notation and heavy parenthesization, is widely perceived as harder to read than C-style languages like Python or Java. The piece rejects the common Lisp community explanation that unreadability is purely a matter of unfamiliarity, and instead draws on cognitive science to propose a deeper structural cause tied to parenthesis placement.
paultm.nl
· 2026-09-28
A new opinion piece contends that programming languages are treated as fixed, sacred artifacts, forcing developers to build workaround build systems and conventions instead of directly modifying their languages. It cites Raymond Chen's 2005 blog post opposing 'flow-control macros,' which warned that such customizations obscure code semantics and complicate debugging, as an example of the resistance to language malleability.
jimmyhmiller.com
· 2026-09-25
Elixir creator José Valim published an essay examining how programming languages, their ecosystems and communities could change as AI agents take over more code writing. The piece is split into two parts: broader reflections on community and ecosystem effects, and concrete opinions on how developer tooling should adapt now that coding agents are using languages directly.
dashbit.co
· 2026-09-25
Microsoft has officially designated Rust as a Tier One language, granting it the same organizational priority and support as long-standing languages such as C++ and C#. This classification signals broader internal adoption across Microsoft's engineering teams and platforms, including Windows and Azure infrastructure.
developers.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-18
GoKawiil