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0 pointsza3faran2y ago0 comments

This is why you can do

const true = false

in golang

The number of reserved keywords is not a bad thing. For example, I constantly missed `final` when I worked in golang. Just because a keyword doesn't exist does not make its usecase disappear. Same with other features like `enum` (extremely useful) and visibility rules. golang only has package private and public, not nearly as granular as one needs in practice, not to mention generating large CL's when changing the visibility rules of a function, as opposed to simply having a 1 line change. Sure you can ignore those use cases, but it doesn't mean that their usefulness disappears.

0 comments

adezxc2y ago

> The number of reserved keywords is not a bad thing.

I'm not saying reserved keywords are bad. I'm saying there's much more to learn about Java to learn programming, Go is limited with its' keywords and 'features', which often results in more LoC, but makes it super easy to get going, run into general programming problems like using a variable instead of a reference to it, etc.

In Java, you spend much more time learning the features of the language itself, even simple things like (s)Strings are not easy to understand, then add classes, inheritance, UTF-16, adding other libraries, build tools, JUnit and many, many other things that are given to you with Go.

erik_seaberg2y ago

We should optimize for clear and concise code between experts. You’re going to be an expert for most of your career, and that’s when your time has the greatest value. A small learning curve is bad because you quickly run out of ways for tools to help you. I want to use the most powerful language I possibly can; the time investment pays off.

adezxc2y ago

Sure, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't like reading Java code and prefer Go.

I want to learn programming before becoming an expert in the language. I feel like it's easier to do using Go. In Java you have to become a bit of both to be efficient.

za3faranOP2y ago

When I had to learn golang, picking up the syntax was easy, but it has many gotchas that you end up having to spend time to learn them anyway, which don't exist in Java (e.g. the Java compiler requires final or effectively final vars to be passed into lambdas, golang happily complies ending up with race conditions).

I don't see why learning language features is an issue. The language offers features to provide more correct and more expressive code.

golang does not solve the variable vs reference issue at all by the way, and in fact, introduces weird edge cases, such as nil interface not being equal to nil.

Why do you say Strings not easy to understand?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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adezxc2y ago

> The number of reserved keywords is not a bad thing.

erik_seaberg2y ago

adezxc2y ago

Sure, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't like reading Java code and prefer Go.

I want to learn programming before becoming an expert in the language. I feel like it's easier to do using Go. In Java you have to become a bit of both to be efficient.

za3faranOP2y ago

I don't see why learning language features is an issue. The language offers features to provide more correct and more expressive code.

golang does not solve the variable vs reference issue at all by the way, and in fact, introduces weird edge cases, such as nil interface not being equal to nil.

Why do you say Strings not easy to understand?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse