Choose the right language for the job

Introduction

There are many programming languages, and they all have strengths and weaknesses.

Some languages are better suited for certain tasks than others which makes deciding hard. Talking about the language alone often ignore other aspects of the possible solution, like the tooling, the ecosystem, the community, the documentation, the support, the availability of libraries and so on.

I have created a small algorithm to guide decisions.

But lets just get some terms out of the way first.

• Boring stack
• Fun stack
• Best fit stack

The boring stack is the stack you know very well. You can focus on the problem area and not the language and tools.

The fun stack is the stack you want to learn and adopt. You can focus on the language and tooling and learn a new language and tools.

The dark horse is the best fit stack. It is the stack that is best suited for the task at hand. It is the stack you should use, but it is not the stack you know or have the time to learn and adopt.

Consider these parameters when choosing a language (stack) for the problem at hand:

1. It is time critical? (delivery wise)
2. Is it a one-off or a long-term project?

Example: Make a basic CLI tool

I am fairly proficient in Perl and I have been using it for several years. I have also been learning Go for a couple of years, but I am by no means as proficient in it as I am in Go.

I want to create a command line tool.

• It is a one-off task
• It is not time critical

I could use Perl for this task, but I want to learn Go and I have the time to do so.

I would choose Go for this task.

Example: Crunch some statistics at work by Monday

I need to crunch some statistics at work. I have a lot of data and I need to do some calculations on it and it has to be delivered by Monday.

• It is a one-off task
• It is time critical

I could use Go for this task, since I want to learn Go, but I do not have the time to do so, so I choose Perl for this task, since I know it well.

Other parameters come into play, like:

• Is it for you alone?
• Is the proposed stack a good fit for a solution to the problem area?

If we look at some different languages and their strengths and weaknesses, we can see that some languages are better suited for certain tasks than others.

I have set up this list of languages and their strengths and weaknesses. based on my perspective and experience, so you should write one for yourself illustrating your perspective and experience.

Language	Strengths	Weaknesses	Stack
C	Very fast, low-level, compiled, familiar paradigm	Hard to learn, insecure, complex tooling	n00b
JavaScript	Primarily aimed at web solutions, extensive libraries, interpreted	Slow, different paradigm	apprentice
Python	Good support for ML and AI, extensive libraries, interpreted	Slow, different paradigm	n00b
Ruby	Extensive libraries, good match for web based solutions, interpreted, familiar paradigm	Slow	n00b
Perl	Extensive libraries, good general purpose; interpreted	Slow	Intermediate
PHP	Extensive libraries, good match for web based solutions, interpreted, familiar paradigm	Slow	familiar
Prolog	Good for AI and expert systems	Hard to learn, different paradigm, not good for other tasks, compiled, complex tooling	n00b
Go	Fast, garbage collected, compiled, familiar paradigm		apprentice
Rust	Fast, garbage collected, compiled, secure	Hard to learn	n00b

The algorithm

Stack	Good fit	Bad fit
Boring stack	You know it, you can use it - do it	You know it, you could use it - evaluate alternatives
Fun stack	You want to learn it, you can use it - do it	You want to learn it, you should not use it
Best fit stack	You can use it - do it	You can use it

Pick between your boring and your fun stack

1. Is the task a one-off or a long-term project
   1. one-off:
      1. Is the solution time time-critical or the problem area complex
         1. Yes: choose a language you know - choose your boring stack, unless the problem area is complex, then choose best fit stack
         2. No: choose a language you want to learn - choose your fun stack or a best fit stack that you want to learn
   2. long-term: choose a language you know or have decided to adopt/learn
      1. Is the code going to be maintained by
         1. Yes: choose a language you know - choose your boring stack
         2. No: choose a language you want to learn - choose your fun stack

Language	Strengths	Weaknesses
C	Fast, low-level, portable	Difficult to learn, no built-in support for objects
C++	Fast, low-level, portable, object-oriented	Difficult to learn, no built-in support for garbage collection
C#	Fast, object-oriented, garbage collected, portable	Difficult to learn, not as portable as Java
Java	Fast, object-oriented, garbage collected, portable	Difficult to learn, not as portable as C
JavaScript	Easy to learn, portable, built-in support for objects	Slow, not as portable as Java
Python	Easy to learn, portable, built-in support for objects	Slow, not as portable as Java
Ruby	Easy to learn, portable, built-in support for objects	Slow, not as portable as Java
Perl	Easy to learn, portable, built-in support for objects	Slow, not as portable as Java
PHP	Easy to learn, portable, built-in support for objects	Slow, not as portable as Java
Prolog	Good for artificial intelligence	Not good for other tasks
Go	Fast, object-oriented, garbage collected, portable	Not as portable as Java

Extending Your Boring Stack

Resources and References

• Go
• Perl
• Python
• Ruby