This is particularly true for programming languages. What makes a programming language valuable? One factor is the libraries available to it. The more high-quality open libraries available, the better. The more active a programmer community, the better its libraries. It's very similar to what makes any website with a social component valuable.
Programming languages are social and cultural constructs as much as technological.
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For sufficiently large values of "almost", or sufficiently loose definitions of "social software."
Is Excel social software? Word? Photoshop? Are most Line of Business applications? ERPs?
Hello, Mr. Hammer-- see anything around here that looks like a nail?
This is particularly true for programming languages. What makes a programming language valuable? One factor is the libraries available to it. The more high-quality open libraries available, the better. The more active a programmer community, the better its libraries. It's very similar to what makes any website with a social component valuable.
Programming languages are social and cultural constructs as much as technological.
I like the gest of that article, but I surely disagree with the premise copied to this thread title.