Why are there so many programming languages?
In: 9
Would you use a screwdriver to dig a huge hole in the ground? Well probably you could, but using a shovel would be much easier and faster to achieve the same result.
In the same way, in the time IT has been around, multiple specialized languages were developed to do the same things much easier. You have SQL to query relational data, you have javascript to run applications on browsers, java for enterprise applications, c++ for videogames and many others.
Obviously the same language can be used for multiple purposes, e.g. C# is used both for enterprise applications and games, but the main reason to create a new language is doing the same thing easier.
“Being easier” is also referred to the abstraction level. The C language exists because we needed a language that was easier to learn (compared to assembly) but also able to run blazing fast. Java was originally created with the idea of having a single language that worked the same on all platforms, which is not true for languages like c++.
Latest Answers