Computers need programming languages to function. That’s just a simple fact of life. However, these languages didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. They were developed by people for explicit purposes.

Politeness isn't even the weirdest thing about the language.

The other day, my friend Ned’s cousin asked Ned what he thought was the best first language for new programmers. The cousin didn’t have much computing experience, but at 15 years old the future was ...

How do programming languages get created, and what goes into design decisions? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better ...