What's the best programming language?

Determining the "best" programming language depends on multiple factors, including the task at hand, personal preferences, existing codebases, and the ecosystems of libraries. Guests on the Lex Fridman Podcast have shared their insights on this topic:

• John Carmack argued that the best programming language is the one you are currently using, emphasizing the importance of not mixing languages within a project. He recognizes the simplicity and popularity of Go and mentions Rust as another modern language of note. He cautions against using multiple languages within a project due to complexities it can introduce 1.

• Ishan Misra suggests Python for beginners, especially for machine learning, due to its ease of use and popularity in the field 2.

• Charles Isbell and Michael Littman have a light-hearted discussion about programming languages. While Isbell jokingly promotes Lisp as the only real language, both ultimately recommend Python for those getting started 3.

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    1

    Programming Language Preferences

    00:17:26
    
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    2

    Programming Language Insights

    02:18:45
    
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    3

    Programming Language Perspectives

    01:45:39
    
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    4

    Evolution of Programming

    00:49:34
    
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    5

    Language Design Insights

    00:22:27
    
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    6

    Programming Languages Today

    00:04:02
    

• Brian Kernighan talks about the evolution of programming languages and the role of system programming languages like C, which has been significant for writing system programs and operating systems 4.

• Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++, recommends learning machine code and C++ for a deep understanding of programming and also sees value in the clear expression afforded by functional languages 5.

• Brian Armstrong expresses his personal preference for Ruby, highlighting its philosophy of being easier for the human and more productive for rapid prototyping 6.