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Comment by keithnz | Hacker News Reader

when you say "it's just a tool", you are minimizing the significance of actually knowing a language and the surrounding libraries and technology. Much like an aircraft is just a tool, it still requires a well trained pilot.

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I think you're both right. Once trained, someone who can fly a 747 can also fly an A320 or an L-1011 since they know how to fly a multi-engine plane.

Programming is similar in that once you "get it" the skills transfer easily between languages. Learning a new language is much easier than learning the first one.

Correct.

That's true, but do you think a developer with 10 years of Java would ever get offered a C job if their only experience of it was self-learning? Unless they have other exceptional skills beyond code, or they're very lucky, they're stuck doing Java.

Thats only because there is no agreed upon way to understand talent. I'd bet that that MOST Java programmers could take a C job and start doing pretty damn well in the first month or two.

my experience is the opposite, ( talking about embedded C environment ). It is a hard transition, if they get trained, it's better, but self learning is often characterized by a lot of "learning from mistakes"

A 747 pilot will have to go through a significant retraining process before being allowed to fly an A320 or L-1011 in commercial service. This involves classroom sessions, simulator flights, and real flights with an instructor. Boeing and Airbus aircraft have significant differences in cockpit layout, controls, and emergency procedures.

exactly my point, you can know "how to fly" but you need to be trained on specific aircraft, not only that, you need to be trained on landing / takeoff on that aircraft into specific airports. In fact I used to work on software that helped manage pilots / aircrews and schedule them onto aircraft and maintain legal requirements, certifications, etc.

The author says it himself:

>Learning lots of programming languages is surprisingly easy. Eventually, familiar patterns appear that makes learning new languages easier.

Most folks who say they "know" 12 languages barely can code in most of them.

From personal experience hiring programmers and dabbling in programming - the guy who devotes his life around being a Java programmer and grokking the entire ecosystem is far more effective at writing Java than the guy who is a stellar C guy who has been using Java for a year.

I think the "languages are just a tool! pick up the best one for the job!" trope is over evangelized. There are exceedingly few competent programmers who can pick up a language and be a true expert at it within a few months. Those guys are not who we're talking about in the article.

The more average programmer (e.g. guys who would let skills rust) is likely struggling with the basic concepts to begin with, much less picking up an entirely new syntax. These guys would take time measured years to get up to their same basic productivity as their first language.

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