millimeterman

What? That's absolutely not guaranteed to be fair use. AFAIK there's no precedent for such things. And even if random people making memes is fair use, Giphy would still be violating the copyright of the original media by hosting nearly unedited clips for commercial reasons. The vast, vast, vast majority of memes are not transformative.

It's worth reiterating the point of my initial comment (which I admit I may not have conveyed well). I never said "syntax doesn't matter", because that's not my point. My point is that it's almost never worth arguing about. Just pick something (or accept what already exists) and move on. Language designers (and you) have more worthwhile things to do.

My issue is with unproductive, endless debates about syntax minutiae like the original post. Syntax doesn't matter enough to be worth it, and such debates devolve into everyone shouting about their personal preferences anyway (see: many of these comments).

> Do SQL without the SQL syntax

I'm not sure what you're saying here. The syntax of SQL is completely arbitrary - I'm sure you could think of a completely different syntax that works just fine. Let me know if I'm missing something, but it seems extremely obvious to me that the biggest difference between C++ and SQL programs isn't how they look - it's how they behave. One wouldn't dream of replacing one with the other and that has nothing to do with their syntaxes.

> go to the C++ community (for example) and tell them to change the syntax to lisp syntax and see how much it will succeed

Obviously it'll fail - good. Even if lisp syntax was way better, they've gotten used to C++ syntax and have much more important things to spend their time on.

I also know many languages (which is hardly some grand accomplishment) and it’s my firm opinion that syntax MATTERS LEAST. You spend some time getting used to it and it never really bothers you again. Semantics matter most - syntax is just an interface to the important stuff.

The difference between Python, C++, Haskell, Common Lisp, Prolog, and SQL isn’t syntax. If it was, everyone would pick their favorite syntax and use it all the time. What matters is how well the semantics (and their potential performance implications) match your problem. The syntax just needs to be a decent enough interface to the semantics. Frankly, it seems to me like most of your “counterexamples” are about language semantics, not syntax.

Here’s the thing. Would I like every language to have a consistent, beautifully designed syntax backed by UX research and testing? Absolutely. But language designers have bigger fish to fry. There’s little value in wasting energy talking about syntax once it reaches a basic state of acceptability.

I do amend my statement - you’re right that it’s a big, unsubstantiated claim. There are no _demonstrated_ differences. I haven’t seen an ounce of evidence that it makes a difference beyond familiarity. Furthermore, even if it did, that wouldn’t make it top priority. It would just make arguments about it sensible.

I didn't say "syntax doesn't matter, pick any ridiculous thing you want". That's what I mean by "not unimportant", though I admit it's not exactly clear that's what I meant. My point is that within the space of reasonable, comprehensible syntaxes, there are no demonstrable differences worth arguing about.

Sure, but there's no arguing to be done there. Is the grammar context free? Ideally, can it be parsed with small constant lookahead? Yes? Cool, no further discussion needed.

I'd be more open to this kind of discussion if there was an ounce of actual research behind what makes syntax more/less readable. As it is, it's just a bunch of people arguing endlessly about their very specific preferences. Just pick something sensible and move on.

Language Design: This stuff doesn't matter that much. Focus on more important things.

Syntax isn't unimportant, but don't waste energy on trivial matters like these. Just pick something and people will get used to it. Focus on the semantics of your language - that's what really matters.