Learning New Languages

18 June

Have you ever read a C# programmer’s Javascript code? 

How about a C programmer’s Ruby code? Or what about a Ruby programmer’s C code? 

It’s uncomfortable, to say the least. (Relevant xkcd)

But why is that and how can I avoid being that dev? 

The answer is simpler than you think.  It’s crappy because you’re still a “Language #1” programmer writing “Language #2”.  You need to put in the effort to be a “Language #2” programmer. 

Seriously.  You should still build on your knowledge to learn a new language, but also abandon that shit for the idioms and customs of the new language. 

You wouldn’t learn Spanish but still insist on using English grammar.

Build on what you know from English, but abandon that shit for the idioms and customs of Spanish. 

Build on what you know from C#, but abandon that shit for the idioms and customs of Javascript. 

Build on what you know from Java, but abandon that shit for the idioms and customs of Ruby. 

Etc.