Eli5: What is the difference between various programming languages? Dont they all do the same thing?
In: 33
It serves the same purpose as specialized human languages, like math.
It lets you say this:
> What number will produce 5 when you multiply it by three?
Much more easily and clearly:
> 5 = 3X
Which matters a lot when the equation grows more complicated, or when the answer to an equation is another equation. At that point you may be comparing *a whole page* of text to a single line of math. It’s easier to read, easier to write, and easier to remember.
But note that anything you can describe in math can also be described in a normal spoken language. It’s not any more *capable*, it’s just *sometimes preferred*.
In the same way, some programming languages are *in practice* much easier to use to do specific things. They’re faster to write, or result in fewer mistakes, or execute faster, or something.
The uses of programming are *extremely* widely varied, so there are *a lot* of niches worth optimizing for, so we have a lot of languages. This will always be true, and it’s a good thing 🙂
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