Developers who go for learning unconventional programming languages (i.e not C++ or Java or Python) or technologies, what is your motivation behind it? and how do you go about learning them?
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I was talking to a friend who was using some obscure wacked out programming language which I had never heard of before to do advent of code.
Masochism is the only answer
Made me cackle on a stressful day π
One possible reason would be if a certain "unconventional" language is highly suited to solving some specific problem really well (e.g. Elixir for concurrency). Another good reason is to choose a greenfield language over a yellowfield language to remove the possibility of having to work on legacy code
I see
But do you think it might get lonely? Working on something no one has previously worked on?
Not necessarily. dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionar... it's entirely likely you would be working with other people as part of a team, simply on a new codebase rather than on a legacy one
Motivation: money. Seriously though there's a lot of money to be made if you can specialize in an esoteric language but there's a catch: it's usually tied to an app. I know how to code in a language very few people even know exists and make a decent living with it, but it took years to establish myself. And then you have a lack of portability to another job to consider.
Learning an esoteric language takes a lot of time on your own to learn - you likely won't be paid to - which is why you (can) make so much more money than a POCO coder.
It's risky. But risk can result in greater reward.
That's a great motivation ngl
I have also read that universities like Harvard have some of these languages in their curriculum, making their students highly coveted professionals
Are you talking about Kotlin or Swift ? Both of them are very good languages.
Sometimes it's cause a niche language serves a specific purpose. I once wrote some programs in Kerboscript; it's a language made specifically for a mod of the game Kerbal Space Program so you can run programs "on" the rocket/plane/etc. Yea C++ works too but Kerboscript has a stronger role-playing feel to it.
Tho I guess fun and a good challenge are also good reasons.
I had no idea what KOS was and now you have sent me down a rabbithole XD
I have no idea. I wish I could find the time, will or had the priorities to do so.
With new in-demand frameworks, upcoming languages, new dev-ops tools and generative AI being used by Cloud Providers it makes it hard for me to justify learning completely out of scope tech stacks.
I think when people do this they really do it in there free time. To them maybe it is their "leisure time". Though, I feel as if these are the same people who make node packages for fun. Haha!
Does learning a prehistoric language fall into the "unconventional" category?
COBOL comes to mind. Someone has said very well, in my opinion, that it is about money. For example, programming in COBOL and other non-standard programs can help you earn a lot of money.
Then they have their niche, for certain things they are good. And in the case of COBOL, even if you want to crucify me, they have their charm. I hate a lot of these conventional programming languages like JavaScript, so not everything conventional is the best
"Cheers to embracing unconventional languages and technologies! The motivation often lies in expanding horizons, solving unique challenges, and staying ahead of the curve. Learning unconventional languages can bring fresh perspectives, health trips enhance problem-solving skills, and contribute to a unique skill set. Share your experiences and tips on how you approach learning these unconventional gems. #programming #productivity #career #discuss"
You missed to remove inverted comma while pasting from chatGPT xD
ππ
Working against the establishment comes to mind sometimes we build stuff in vb.net, stuff you could easily do with project templates in c#, but just for the heck of it, lot of us who learnt visual basic (even BASIC in retro computing) don't want it to die, so we hack program.vb and use it to make minimal apis and stuff.
Sorry, what do you mean by "unconventional programming language", I have never heard about that.
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