Ask HN: Do Anyone succeeded at a start up using a new/unknown language?

1 point·rpaulr··3 comments

Is it bad to try a new programing language (new to Scala, earlier java/nodejs/python dev) in a start up if we have the time to learn.

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A startup's primary focus should be getting the product out and getting customers. The language should be something that you are comfortable with, unless it is critical to the success of the product, in which case you should hire people who know it already. Can you clarify why you think that you have time to learn?

Learning to be able to write functional code will not be enough. You need to be an expert in it - the kind of expertise that is gained with years of writing code in it, knowing debugging techniques as second nature, idiosyncrasies and best practices, where your productivity in the language has reached peak levels and you don't have to think of how to do something in the language, and can focus on solving the problem for the business.

This is more true of languages than of frameworks or tools.

One exception I've found in practice is Go, which being a simple language, can be picked up rather readily. Early code isn't idiomatic but still fairly readable and maintainable. Python could be another which make sense in order to use a simple framework such as Flask or possibly Django. Scala would be on the other end of the spectrum and a definite no no.

using Crystal Lang on a production app with Kemal.

If one gets used to breaking changes and gets to know the inner bits of ones language and libraries and it's less risky.

If one is using very complex stacks and hoping/waiting for other people to fix things, it's much more risky.

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