language-comparisons

What are the primary differences between Haskell and F#?

I've searched on the Internet for comparisons between F# and Haskell but haven't found anything really definitive. What are the primary differences and why would I want to choose one over the other? ...

How to express this Bash command in pure Python

I have this line in a useful Bash script that I haven't managed to translate into Python, where 'a' is a user-input number of days' worth of files to archive: find ~/podcasts/current -mindepth 2 -mtime '+`a`+' -exec mv {} ~/podcasts/old \; I am familiar with the os.name and getpass.getuser for the most general cross-platform elements....

F# and Scala comparison

Could someone describe what are the differences between those two languages? Other that they target different VM of course ;) ...

What language enhancements do you think Delphi(Native version) needs?

I've been a long-time Delphi developer and honestly day by day it started to feel more and more cumbersome especially in this age of dynamic languages like Python or Ruby. And not only the dynamic ones are progressing fast, C# and Java too are progressing at a fast rate due to competition (which were more or less comparable to Delphi's l...

What are the differences between Perl, Python, AWK and sed?

Hello, just want to know what are the main differences among them? and the power of each language (where it's better to use it). Edit: it's not "vs." like topic, just information. ...

C# vs Java Enum (for those new to C#)

I've been programming in Java for a while and just got thrown onto a project that's written entirely in C#. I'm trying to come up to speed in C#, and noticed enums used in several places in my new project, but at first glance, C#'s enums seem to be more simplistic than the Java 1.5+ implementation. Can anyone enumerate the differences ...

Why doesn't Java have a way of specifying unescaped String literals?

In C#, if you want a String to be taken literally, i.e. ignore escape characters, you can use: string myString = @"sadasd/asdaljsdl"; However there is no equivalent in Java. Is there any reason Java has not included something similar? Edit: After reviewing some answers and thinking about it, what I'm really asking is: Is there any ...

Programming Into a Language: Great Examples

In reference to Steve McConnell's Code Complete and its reference to "Programming into a language" versus "Programming in a language" (see this blog entry by Jon Skeet if you don't have the book handy), I would like to know your favorite/best examples of where you programmed into a language. I'll include my own for good measure. ...

What are PHP's advantages over Ruby on Rails and Django?

PHP was the undisputed king of easy webapp development, until Ruby on Rails, Django, and other dynamic programming frameworks appeared. What are, in your opinion, PHP's strengths against the newcomers? ...

Actionscript 3 vs haXe: Which to chose for new Flash project?

I am in the planning stages of a new Flash game project and was wondering which language would be better to use? I already have a strong understanding of Actionscript 3, and have not worked with haXe yet, but i have read the language reference docs and it seems that haXe has some of the features from my other favorite languages, C# and R...

Moving a C# Program to a different language

I am currently in charge of the development of the second version of program that was created in Microsoft .NET C#. I'm not doing any actual programming, but I am writing the specification for the programmer. I'd like to take it off the .NET codebase, but since Joel said on his blog never to rewrite code, and he does provide good reasoni...

How important are side-by-side comparisons for new technologies?

Hey all, final question for the market research that my graduate team is doing for new product adoptions. Thank you all for the help you have provided so far, it has been invaluable for our research. I'll publish a link to our industry white paper if anyone is interested (and it doesn't get closed). So how important are side-by-side c...

Scala vs. Groovy vs. Clojure

Can someone please explain the major differences between Scala, Groovy and Clojure. I know each of these compiles to run on the JVM but I'd like a simple comparison between them. ...

What is the best functional language for scientific programming

I am coming from C/C++, Python background and I am looking to learn a functional language that (Hopefully) can do Serious Matrix Computation expressive real world modelling database integration concurrency/parallelism Battery (library) included Strong integration with other well tuned library in other language Have a positive future ...

How does Smalltalk (Pharo for example) compare to Python?

I've seen some comparisons between Smalltalk and Ruby on the one hand and Ruby and Python on the other, but not between Python and Smalltalk. I'd especially like to know what the fundamental differences in Implementation, Syntax, Extensiabillity and Philosophy are. For example Python does not seem to have Metaclasses. Smalltalk has no ...

A comparison between the cocoa and .net frameworks

the purpose of this question is to make it easier for developers trying to migrate between the two. If you want to learn one technology, you'll want to know how its different from those that you know. What should someone know when switching between the Cocoa and .NET frameworks? Related: .Net guy needs some info on Cocoa ...

VB.net application in "Real World" software?

Hi, I'm curious to know the spread level of programs coded in VB.net. I'm asking, because I coded in VB.net during my university years in aerospace engineering , because our informatics professor wanted us to do that and we learned at least a very basic experience in programming. So I coded a horizon finder as a project-work and asked a...

ASP.NET - C# vs VB.NET - Indirect differences and things you might not initially consider

I'm not interested in starting another "who has the bigger member" VB vs C# debate (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/158229/what-are-the-pros-of-vb-net seems to cover that already) though I am interested in indirect differences which may influence developing in one vs the other. All my commercial .NET development was desktop apps in VB...

Is there .Net TypeConverter equivalent in Java

In .NET when I had a "value" that could exist as multiple types I could easily use a TypeConverter for switching between those types (currency types, xml data vs object representation, ect). In Java, I am not sure what the preferred way to handle this situation is. Is there a TypeConverter equivalent in Java? ...

How does one define and describe these different points in time?

Background: Eldridge asked me to explain what the difference is between the difference phases of time when it comes to writing and deploying code. He wants to know: 1) what is the difference between: 1) design time; 2) compile time; 3) run-time? 2) what are specific examples of things a programmer would not be able to hard-wire into ...