Why are there things like c++ and python when computers have to be programmed. Why does there need to be so many languages when one could solve it?
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I’ll be cutting many corners since this is ELI5
People used to code in not a language but in binary, evidently it was not easy so someone came with assembly which is way better than looking at hex numbers all day. You had the full control and speed but required a solid understanding of the code structure since even the most basic operation can take many lines.
Later, someone decided they can do better by designing a language with common code structures like loops or comparison built-in so you wouldn’t have to write them from scratch every time but kept the control of the hardware if you need it, now you have C.
C was good, C was fast, C was easier to learn by more people than Assembly, but it let you make mistakes and expected you to know better. In C you could borrow some memory and never return it back, like your neighbor who borrowed your dvd player and never returned either.
With C you would have a lost of functions you can call to perform numerous tasks bit you would have to know all of them by heart, and it is like to memorize a phonebook. Someone decided to make it easier to group functions into objects so it would be easier to design more complex applications, hence came the C++.
Someone else said C++ is good, but does not require discipline so let’s make things like memory management easier, also make it run on other devices too. Here comes the Java, familiar to C++ but better!
Story goes on and on forever. Each time someone believed then do better, solve a specific issue and make people’s (developers’) lives easier, and sure they did, otherwise we would have all the technology we have right now.
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