Syntax = Most Important Aspect of a Programing Language
The quality of a programing language, can be judged by how much of it can be explained by its syntax alone.
You know how in object oriented programing, there's a concept of “interface” or API? Namely, interface is all you need to know to use a object or device. You do not need to know how or what's underneath. For functions, sometimes this is called the function's “signature”.
In the same way, one approach to view computer languages is the syntax, and syntax alone. It is the syntax, the sequence of symbols you type, the source code, that is the entirety of how your program will behave. This aspect, can be likened to the theoretical study of formal language, or, viewing computer languages as a formal system of mathematics.
With this perspective, the languages are ranked roughly in this order:
Mathematica ≻ APL ≻ LISP ≻ PHP ≻ JavaScript ≻ Ruby ≻ Perl ≻ Python ≻ Java
This is the approach i take in my critique. The following is a index of essays related to programing languages. I hope you like it. (use the search box to find what you are looking for.)
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the ordering of the articles below are rather randomish.
documentation idiocy collection