On: CoffeeScript: less typing, bad readability

[ojosilva]

After reading this, I felt the urge to classify key aspects of write and readability of the programming languages I've dealt with over the years.

How easy or fast it is...

  - to write what I want to achieve
  - to write something that makes me feel creative
  - to write something that makes me feel tidy, organized
  - to write a syntax error
  - to write a logical error
  - to step into a "gotcha"
  - to find that bug
  - to grasp a short snipped
  - to grasp a 20K loc app
  - to read my own code 1 week later
  - to read my own code 3 years later
  - to read somebody else's code

Now trying to rate languages by these parameters is a tough job that I can't even imagine how to tackle. In many instances it doesn't even has to do with the language itself, but rather with my experience and relationship with it. But any exercise in this direction gives some food for thought while trying to find the right tool for the next job. Or something to think about when looking back at some of the choices I've made through my programming lifetime.

[orangecat → ojosilva]

- to grasp a 20K loc app

Although, 20k lines of Python is probably doing much more than 20k lines of Java.