Java
Sometimes, the developer's special disdain for a particular language may be related to the developer's familiarity with the programming language, rather than the inherent negative emotions of the language. Hatch said that although he thinks Java is a great language, he personally hates Java. Because Java is a language that strictly enforces the OOP structure, and most developers do not understand the object-oriented programming (OOP) structure.
Hatch said that Java has occupied a dominant position in the industry since the late 1990s and has maintained its popularity throughout the following period. But because of this, it is deeply hated by many developers.
On the other hand, as the popularity of the language increases, it requires more and more skills for developers, which invisibly increases the pressure on developers. An interviewee named Monica Lent believes that many developers have strong negative feelings about Java, probably because the language is the first language they encountered early in their careers.
Lent said that many experienced engineers learned Java in universities as their first or main programming language. To some extent, the hatred of Java may be because they associate this language with the frustration of learning code or learning a new programming language.
She also pointed out that the public's enthusiasm for Java is continuing to decline. The phenomenon that Python surpassed Java in TIOBE's November ranking is a strong argument.
JavaScript
JavaScript ranks seventh in the latest TIOBE ranking, which is consistent with its ranking in December 2019. At the same time, since 2000, JavaScript's annual average ranking has been in the top 10.
Jack Mannino, CEO of nVisium, believes that JavaScript is a mess in real-world applications. In terms of design, JavaScript encourages the use of anti-patterns such as global variables, and JavaScript's forced type conversion often confuses developers.
Hatch also criticized Javascript. He said: "If hatred is bred everywhere, then Javascript is typical." Javascript is the only universal language that can be run in a web browser. This has also led to that wherever it can be criticized, it will be criticized.
Javascript was not originally developed as a full-featured language, but more as a script extension of HTML. This means that the language has had to develop extensively over the years. With its development, the ecosystem is also evolving, introducing more and more Javascript frameworks, which leads to developer fatigue and difficulty keeping up with changes.
Brandon Minor, CEO and co-founder of Tangram Vision, described Javascript as a "nightmare." He said that although the language provides a grammar that is easy to learn at first, the convenience ends here. The "pain" felt by Javascript users is unmatched by other language users in the programming world.
C++
C++ is one of the more popular programming languages, ranking fourth in the latest TIOBE ranking. Since 1985, according to the TIOBE ranking, C++ has entered the top ten on average every year. From 1990 to 2015, the average ranking of C++ has remained in the top three.
Hatch said that C++'s popularity has incurred hatred from many fields. Specifically, Hatch describes C++ as "an object-oriented extension of the C language" with "unlimited functionality." But he also pointed out that as language functions become more abundant, they will become more confusing.
Hatch also said that he likes what Linus Torvalds said, "In other words, if you want a good, efficient, system-level, and portable C++, the only way is to limit yourself to all C. The language is basically available". This also means that C++ code is often very messy, and there are many C++ code libraries that are difficult to follow and understand.
Perl
The dissatisfaction of the programming world is not just directed at the long-standing industry main force. Interestingly, Hatch also showed that Perl is one of his most hated programming languages. In the latest TIOBE list, Perl failed to enter the top 10, ranking 14th overall, sandwiched between Swift and Ruby. But in general, Perl's popularity has increased in the past year, and it ranked 20th in TIOBE's December 2019 list.
Hatch stated, "Although Perl is no longer widely used, Perl code is still lingering." Perl is often referred to as the "Write Only" language, and this mockery of Perl emphasizes that reading Perl code is very difficult, even for an experienced Perl developer. Not to mention that Perl has changed a lot over the years. This means that the old Perl code may be very different from the newer Perl code.