apothegm 3 months ago

Depends on the language. Python for instance has a massive default library, and there are entire modules I use anywhere from one a year to once a decade —- or never at all until some new project needs them.

danielbln 3 months ago

Not everyone works in a single language and/or deep in some singular code base.

  • BigJono 3 months ago

    Gee do you think maybe that's why all our software sucks balls these days?

    • Philpax 3 months ago

      No? Of all the reasons software sucks, multidisciplinary programmers are unlikely to be near the top.

      • jajko 3 months ago

        They certainly are for me, working but horribly designed java projects done by plsql devs were a proper eyeballs bleeding long into the night.

        Absolutely 0 framework or libs, nothing even for logging. Code architecture that would be left in the dust by most university semester projects.

        This is how plsql codebases look, but boy Java (and rest of the world) moved quite far since 1995.

  • skydhash 3 months ago

    I struggle to think how one person is supposed to interact with that many languages on a daily (or even weekly) basis.

    I’ve been on projects with multiple languages, but the truly active code was done in only two. The other languages were used in completed modules where we do routine maintenance and rare alterations.

    • simonw 3 months ago

      "I struggle to think how one person is supposed to interact with that many languages on a daily (or even weekly) basis."

      LLMs. I've expanded the circle of languages I use on a frequent basis quite dramatically since I started leaning on LLMs more. I used to be Python, SQL and JavaScript only. These days I'm using jq, AppleScript, Bash, Go, awk, sed, ffmpeg and so many more.

      I used to avoid infrequently used DSLs because I couldn't hold them in my memory. Now I'll happily use "the best tool for the job" without worrying about spinning up on all the details first.