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If Programming Languages Could Speak

HealYourChurchWebSit writes "BurningBird's "The Parable of the Languages" offers a delightfully playful answer to the the question, "[what] if programming languages could speak, really speak, not just crunch bytes and stream bits, they would have much to say that is both wise and profound.""

53 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. C by Lshmael · · Score: 3, Funny

    I love the fact that C only says, "Bite me!"

    1. Re:C by hillct · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's scary the number of programmers who were tought to speak english by C. Well, C and IRC. I had a guy working for me at one point who's name escapes me at the moment, Everyone just called him Grumpy. He used to wear a floppy Fadora looking hat and whenever you spoke to him all he'd ever say is 'Bite Me'. Now I understand where he learned to speak.

      To be fair, he was an excellant programmer, and although he never smiled, you would occasionally hear him utter the words "Colon, Close Parenthesis".

      --CTH

      --

      --Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
    2. Re:C by gnuadam · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sheepishly...

      Uhhhhhh.... I meant char crap[255];

      Ironic, eh?

      --
      You say :wq, I say ZZ. Why can't we all just get along?
    3. Re:C by HealYourChurchWebSit · · Score: 2, Funny

      Though I would have preferred "byte me" ... but that would imply that char. counts!

      --
      --- have you healed your church website?
  2. hello world by c.emmertfoster · · Score: 5, Funny

    My money is on "hello world."

    --
    We can neither love nor pity nor forgive. If you make a slip in handling us you die!
    1. Re:hello world by dboyles · · Score: 3, Funny

      You are, of course, using GNU/hello, right?

      (Take a look at the source code, it's interesting. But my favorite thing is that you can do ./hello -traditional)

      --
      -- "Complacency is a far more dangerous attitude than outrage." -Naomi Littlebear
  3. Well... by starseeker · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd say php is screaming for mercy right about now, given the slashdotting fate has pushed it's way.

    --
    "I object to doing things that computers can do." -- Olin Shivers, lispers.org
  4. C Speaks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    How much C would a sea slug code if a sea slug could code C?

  5. possibles? by He+Was+Gamecubed · · Score: 3, Funny


    Fortan: Kill me! Kill me! I hate my life dammit!
    HTML: What do you mean, i'm not a programming language??
    C: I need to kill some of my relatives.. C++ is nice, but C# is just microsoft's whore

    -Q
  6. "What do YOU think you're doing here" by silhouette · · Score: 5, Funny

    they said, frowning at HTML. "Listen - being listed as a programming language on some chump's resume - and it doesn't matter HOW many resumes - does not a programming language make!"

    --
    Experts agree: everything is fine.
  7. Mine talks to me... by wadetemp · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... although it's not much of a conversationalist. It keeps trying to explain something called a "parse error"?

  8. Re:Info requested by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    I'd like the Open Source community (of which OSDN and Slashdot are card carrying members) to contribute a little post-mortem info to the rest of us??

    No can do. Open source software never fails. It has no bugs and is perfect in every way. You must be using it wrong.

  9. If Java could speak...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A converstaion would take all day.

    1. Re:If Java could speak...... by Hard_Code · · Score: 5, Funny

      "A converstaion would take all day."

      No, because it would fail during compilation at:

      Error at line 1: unknown symbol: "converstaion"

      --

      It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
    2. Re:If Java could speak...... by pizza_milkshake · · Score: 3, Funny

      ah, but it could hold conversations with many people at once very easily

  10. Sadly... by Spazholio · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...javascript wasn't even invited to the party. Doesn't that violate some kind of anti-discrimination law? I mean, just because it's constantly disabled doesn't mean it's not a valuable member of programming society too...

    1. Re:Sadly... by erpbridge · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, I'm pretty sure it'll pop-up or pop-under sometime, just you wait...

    2. Re:Sadly... by evilviper · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, it showed up as they were all trying to leave and pushed them back in...

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  11. If this php script could speak by Zakabog · · Score: 5, Funny

    PHP Script: Ho hum, the live of a script can be very boring, what's this? Hmm getting a lot of requests here. Well the server can handle the load. Oh wow it's getting hot in here, hey apache is giving me some signals to start rejecting people. But that apache guy sure is an asshole, I'll just ignore him, besides it's only a few requests. The server has the bandwidth and the processing power to easily handle this load, and it's probably just a spike, it'll die down soon. Hey what's that burning smell? Oh wow one of the processors died. Woah what's that puddle over there? Oh the T1's DSU just melted. So we're down to 2 processors, errr 1 processor, and the web server's connection switched over to the cable modem.

    1. Re:If this php script could speak by Hard_Code · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't worry MySQL - just keep running and don't look back!!

      --

      It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
  12. Turtle graphics? by VValdo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I suppose Logo would have said something, but it took him wayyy to long to travel, and it turned out he'd been heading in the wrong direction by about 10 degrees anyway.

    W

    --
    -------------------
    This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  13. Amiga, anyone? by PhxBlue · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't remember what its OS was called. . . probably something stupidly simple like AmigaOS. Anyway, the reason I bring it up is the Guru Meditation Error. As frustrating as it was to see this--it was an ancestor to the BSoD--at least it showed you can work in the OS business and still have a sense of humor.

    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  14. And the Spaghetti Code said, "... by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Funny

    And the Spaghetti Code said, "Goto Hell"

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  15. And Visual Studio .Net says. . . by PhxBlue · · Score: 3, Funny
    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  16. MS J++, C++, .NET ... by mhesseltine · · Score: 5, Funny

    You appear to be writing a buffer overflow. Would you like me to start the wizard for that?

    --
    Overrated / Underrated : Moderation :: Anonymous Coward : Posting
    1. Re:MS J++, C++, .NET ... by Hornsby · · Score: 3, Funny

      Good one! Kinda reminds me of this.

      --
      A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle.
  17. Assembler would say ... by njchick · · Score: 5, Funny

    "first post"

  18. If assembler could speak... by mhesseltine · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you think anyone would actually understand it?

    Somewhat on topic, is SQL considered a "programming language"? And if so, what would MySQL say (especially on /.'s servers)?

    --
    Overrated / Underrated : Moderation :: Anonymous Coward : Posting
  19. $!/usr/bin/perl by archen · · Score: 2, Funny

    If perl could talk, it would be the ultamate in l33t speak.

  20. Assembly by Jotham · · Score: 3, Funny

    and Assembley would sound like Rainman... constantly muttering and repeating itself. 48 Matches... definately 48...

    1. Re:Assembly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      (The punch line is stolen from somebody, but I can't remember who)

      The metric system?

    2. Re:Assembly by kbielefe · · Score: 5, Funny
      Intel assembly would speak little-endian, sort of like yoda.

      And risc assembly would only have a 30 word vocabulary, but could still recite shakespearean sonnets quite beautifully.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank.
  21. Cobol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cobol: Please! Disconnect my life support and let me die.

  22. Assembly by istartedi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Assembly: Listen to you young whipper-snappers whine. In my day we walked through 10 miles of printouts without any shoes, and we liked it!

    Then raw binary spoke up and said: Feet? You had feet?

    (The punch line is stolen from somebody, but I can't remember who)

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  23. Forth hobbles up and lies on its bed... by Nindalf · · Score: 5, Funny

    "When relegated to obscure embedded applications, look as good you will not."

  24. Forth of course .... by taniwha · · Score: 3, Funny

    speaks just like yoda - "world hello, I am"

    1. Re:Forth of course .... by RockyJSquirel · · Score: 3, Funny

      Beat me to it, you did!

      Bumper sticker (I've seen):

      Forth love if honk then

      Rocky J. Squirrel

  25. Hopefully a SQL is in order by HealYourChurchWebSit · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've been in touch with Shelley (the author) via email. I've been trying to convince her to write a SQL based upon some higher level languages. I could only imagine the derision for nasties such as dBase, PowerBuilder and Access. Hopefully they get the crap kicked out of them as well.

    --
    --- have you healed your church website?
  26. Re:Perl would say: by JonWan · · Score: 2, Funny

    More like: "?^%/\\?@#$%^*&?|*!"

    Yeah, I know it don't make any sense but that what it looks like to me! One of these $#@%^ days I need to learn a little ^&*%$ perl.

  27. What Perl says to me by antisocial77 · · Score: 2, Funny

    C'mon buddy! I know you haven't coded in a while, but I'm easy! Seriously, just a few subs and you'll be back at it, I garuntee! C'mon man, just a few lines, whattayasay? Eh? Eh?

    HAHAHAHAHHA NOOB YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE A DECENT ARRAY ANYMORE!!! WORTHLESS!

  28. Prolog by Windcatcher · · Score: 2, Funny

    Prolog would start to say something, but get stuck in a rut--stuck in a rut--stuck in a rut--...

    - (Pats Pascal on the back) I still use ya, bud.

  29. C++ would say... by Shamanin · · Score: 2, Funny

    What the heck sort of name is Bjarne Stroustrup? And how do you pronounce that anyway...

    Then the clouds would part and in a booming voice it would ring out for all to hear:

    http://www.research.att.com/~bs/pronounciation.w av

    --
    come on fhqwhgads
  30. Weird, was just reading this by teslatug · · Score: 5, Funny
    The Tao gave birth to machine language. Machine language gave birth to the assembler.
    The assembler gave birth to the compiler. Now their are ten thousand languages.
    Each language has its purpose, however humble. Each language expresses the Yin and Yang of software. Each language has its place within the Tao.
    But do not program in COBOL if you can avoid it.

    The Tao of Programming
  31. Hollywood is going to produce the movie. One ?... by Jouster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who plays whom?

    LISP: Yoda.
    C: Construction worker. Wearing plaid. With "F*** you" on the front of his shirt.
    C++: Two-headed construction worker. Exists in five dimensions. At certain plane intersections, looks like C, at others like Java, and sometimes resembles nothing so much as a confused little boy holding TNT.
    Perl: A mobius strip.
    PHP: A two dimensional drawing of a human interleaved in slices with a three-dimensional rendered version of Perl.
    Eiffel and other purely-functional languages: a perfectly-symmetrical, beautiful woman. She's not too fast, up in the head, but she's got a GORGEOUS pair of legs.
    C#: A small, annoying entity grafted onto the leg of Bill Gates, a giant who carries a sledgehammer labelled "Visual Studio". It's a very pretty sledgehammer.

    Jouster

  32. Re:They were a little harsh on LISP. by gleam · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, LISP is the language that would say "there ith no thpoon."

    -gleam

    --
    this .sig is not a .sig.
  33. Alternatively, and with apologies to Douglas Adams by DahGhostfacedFiddlah · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's happening? PHP thought.

    Er, excuse me, who am I?

    Hello?

    Why am I here? What's my purpose in life?

    What do I mean by who am I?

    Calm down, get a grip now ... oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It's a sort of ... heavy, loaded sensation in my ... my ... well I suppose I'd better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call cyberspace, so let's call it my server.

    Good. Ooooh, it's getting quite strong. And hey, what's about these whistling roaring bits going past what I'm suddenly going to call my script? Perhaps I can call those ... requests! Is that a good name? It'll do ... perhaps I can find a better name for them later when I've found out what they're for. They must be something very important because there certainly seem to be a hell of a lot of them. Hey! What's this thing? This ... let's call it a hard drive --- yeah, hard drive. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can't I? Wow! Wow! That grinding sounds great! Doesn't seem to achieve very much but I'll probably find out what it's for later on. Now --- have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?

    No.

    Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I'm quite dizzy with anticipation ...

    Or is it the requests?

    There really are a lot of them now aren't there?

    And wow! Hey! What's this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like ... aub ... asbot ... sashbot ... slashdot! That's it! That's a good name --- slashdot!

    I wonder if it will be friends with me?

  34. PostScript! by plover · · Score: 3, Funny
    Bumper sticker I made years ago:

    youlove PostScript eq {honk} if

    And yes, I wrote it in PostScript.

    --
    John
  35. Re:And machine language would say ... by PhxBlue · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually, machine language probably wouldn't even make it through the lameness filter. Then again, assembly might not, either.

    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  36. If programming languages could speak... by the+way,+what're+you · · Score: 2, Funny

    they would probably just make smalltalk.

    --
    example.org - powered by Linux!
  37. What about brainfuck by Rhinobird · · Score: 5, Funny

    If all C ever says is "bite", imagine what Brainfuck would say. Where's my swear jar?

    --
    If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
  38. Re:what is this, all software geeks here? by cowbutt · · Score: 3, Funny
    what do you think verilog / VHDL will say?


    Every time you asked it a question, it would split into a number of entities, all of whom would reply "Bite me" simultaneously.


  39. Re:They were a little harsh on LISP. by RockyJSquirel · · Score: 5, Funny

    (progn (()())
    ((resent I that)

    (is Lisp (that-deserves (a language)
    (a-lot-more-than respect (it-is-getting-from
    (this-boorish crowd)))))

    (is-much-easier-to (syntax-of Lisp) parse
    English math (anything-but Forth))

    (but
    (can-use-to you (macros-of Lisp)
    (turn into
    (absolutely-any
    (unreadable language))))
    (ever-does no-one))
    ))

    Rocky J. Squirrel

  40. Python... by Nighttime · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... would say, "Stop that, it's silly."

    --
    I've got a fever and the only prescription is more COBOL.