

Ask HN: How low is too low-level programming? - krmboya

It used to be that real programmers programmed in Hex/Assembly, then FORTRAN, and now I'd probably say C.
And now with web-based apps, cloud computing and distributed systems, will the current low-level languages remain relevant to the average software developer?
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mprny
The lower you go the more you will know. But seriously, there is a lot of
upside knowing exactly whats going on in hardware when you are pushing bits
around at a high level. A downside is you waste time writing at a level where
a compiler/interpreter would generate much better code for you.

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madhouse
The general consensus among the people I know is that average software
developers write PHP.

Based on that, I'd say that low-level languages are already irrelevant for
most average programmers.

On the other hand, I'm hoping that's not an accurate reflection of reality.

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noodle
it depends on the developer, and the constraints.

on the one hand, software developers need more powerful languages that can do
more and abstract more. these improve their output and efficiency. you can
build better software faster with higher level languages. they aren't
constrained by the computers they're working with, they themselves are the
constraints.

on the other, embedded systems developers need lower level languages because
they're constrained by the system. you need to cut efficient code if your
entire program is to fit onto a microcontroler with 64K memory, 16K ram.

regular "programmers" used to use lower level languages because they were also
constrained by the system.

