THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE CREATOR INDEX 01—11

Which language
creator am I
like?

Your instincts show up in the syntax you reach for, the semantics you trust, and the trade-offs you make. Find the language creator whose design philosophy feels like yours.

11quick-fire questions
one very specific match~3 MIN

THE FIELD GUIDEFIG. 001

01 Python

02 Java

03 C++

04 JavaScript

05 Ruby

06 C

07 Perl

08 Clojure

09 C#

10 Go

11 Swift

11 LANGUAGESONE OF THEM THINKS LIKE YOU

SYNTAX+SEMANTICS+DESIGN PHILOSOPHY+CODING HABITS NO WRONG ANSWERS. ONLY VERY OPINIONATED ONES.

BEYOND THE MATCHES

Honorable mentions

More pioneers whose work shaped programming languages, systems, and the way developers work.

Systems pioneer

Linus Torvalds

Linux kernel · Git

Created the Linux kernel and Git, shaping how developers build and collaborate on software.

Language pioneer

Grace Hopper

A-0 compiler · COBOL

Pioneered compiler development and helped shape COBOL's early design.

Language designer

John Backus

FORTRAN · BNF

Led the IBM team behind FORTRAN and co-developed Backus–Naur Form with Peter Naur.

Language & systems pioneer

Ken Thompson

B · Unix · Go