A video blogger recently tackled the same programming problem using 16 different languages, giving viewers a chance to see a wide variety of results, share their own suggestions, and learn about programming languages along the way.

It was a fun demonstration of just how many choices there are in the complex world of programming languages today. But for at least one of the languages, it also turned into a demonstration of the power of a community.

The big event happened on code_report, a YouTube channel “dedicated to competitive programming”. It’s the work of Conor Hoekstra, a senior library software engineer at NVIDIA (working on its RAPIDS suite for data science and analytics pipelines) who’s also held roles at Amazon and Moody’s Analytics. Hoekstra also co-hosts a podcast about array-oriented programming languages and another one about programming-related topics like algorithms and data structures.

programming-languages

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

Fortran Has Fans

To explore 16 programming languages, Hoekstra chose a relatively simple problem from a LeetCode coding competition: Given a list of numbers, identify the smallest and largest number — and then find the largest number that can be divided into both of them (without a remainder).

The languages are chosen for the solution:

  • C++
  • Rust
  • D
  • Clojure
  • Ruby
  • Elixir
  • Raku [Perl 6]
  • Haskell
  • Racket
  • Julia
  • Python
  • APL
  • J
  • BQN
  • Pharo Smalltalk
  • Fortran

(The video explained that the last two languages were last-minute additions chosen by Hoekstra’s audience online. “I tweeted this out and asked my followers,” Hoekstra said, and Fortran received “a whopping 27 ‘hearts’ on a single tweet!”)

Drastic Differences

Hoekstra called it “a pretty straightforward problem, but you’ll soon see, especially when we get to the array languages, that you can solve these in a drastically different way than compared to languages like Python or Ruby.”

The little differences quickly became apparent. Python already has built-in functions for all the necessary operations — for finding the smallest number, the largest number, and then the “greatest common divisor” that they share.

16-programming-languagrs

But things really started looking different when Hoekstra got to the functional language Haskell. Its liftM2 function basically maps the values from minimum and maximum into the input for the gcd function — all in a single line.

And best of all, since Haskell used so-called Tacit or point-free style programming, which doesn’t specify arguments in its function definitions, the Haskell solution didn’t even need to mention the array of numbers…

16-programming-languagrs-2

The low-level D programming language requires that the functions be imported — but at least that language uses universal functional call syntax, which lets functions be called using the familiar “method” style of object-oriented programming. Said the host, “This is really, really nice, in my opinion.”

16-programming-languagrs-3

With Rust, Hoekstra complained that, like C++, there’s “a lot of ceremony here” — in this case because the min and max functions require both the iter() method to actually iterate through each value in the list of numbers, and also the unwrap() method to extract just the value from Rust’s more complex enumerated Result type (which includes error handling information).

And, Hoekstra, noted: “there’s also a lot of noise in the num::integer:: namespace in order to get access to the gcd function. But other than that, it’s still a very nice solution.”

16-programming-languagrs-4

But there were even more significant differences, mostly because Hoekstra is a fan of array programming languages. With APL, the gist of the solution (to the right of the pink arrow) is just five characters. (The first two characters find the maximum value, the last two characters find the minimum value, and the green v in the middle finds their greatest common divisor.)

16-programming-languagrs-5

There’s a similar structure in the J programming language — also an array programming language — but “J is an evolved version of APL, and used ASCII diagraphs and not Unicode symbols,” Hoekstra noted. So the maximum-finding function is represented with >. while the minimum-finding function is <.

Read More:   Runtime Protection – InApps Technology 2022

16-programming-languagrs-6

The solutions got more and more exotic. The BQN language is still an array-driven language in the APL family (according to the APL Wiki) — but BQN uses its own unique set of characters. Because there’s no pre-built function for finding the greatest common divisor, that function has to be defined in its own separate line of code.

Hoekstra admitted that he just copied the code from an online source. (“I don’t actually understand it, because I’m a BQN novice.”) But once it’s defined in the first line, it can be called as part of the solution in the second line.

16-programming-languagrs-7

Vying with Viewers

Judging by audience reactions, it looks like the internet enjoyed riding along and sharing the experience.

The video ultimately attracted 135 comments, where Hoekstra’s viewers shared their own opinions on programming languages (“The Haskell solution was beautifully elegant, APL was a bit too cryptic for me.”)  as well as other comments on the proceedings. (“People that requested Fortran wanted to see you suffer.”)

“I have received close to a hundred comments at this point, and a lot of them were improvements on the solutions that I showed in that video,” Hoekstra announced in a second video.

Julia’s solution had looked similar to Python’s — albeit with Julia’s “splat” operator (indicated by the three-dot ellipsis) to signify that more than one value will be tested.

programming-languages-2

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

But viewers had suggested a simpler syntax. Julia also has two built-in minimum- and maximum-finding functions which don’t require the ellipsis. There’s also a single function that returns both values — named extrema. And then the solution got even simpler when Hoekstra uses Julia’s composition operator to produce a point-free solution (with the collect function transforming the two values into a list format so it can be fed into gcd).

programming-languages-3

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

“In my opinion, this is the most beautiful solution of all,” Hoekstra added — partly because it demonstrates the elegance of point-free solutions.

Viewers had also suggested some elegant improvements for the solution Hoekstra wrote in Raku (the language formerly known as Perl 6). In Raku, gcd is an “infix” function that can be placed between two values just like mathematical operators (like a plus or minus sig). And then the two values that it’s operating on can be the results of object-style methods being called on the array of numbers. (Because, as Perl creator Larry Wall once said, in Raku “Everything is an object. But only if you want it to be.”)

programming-languages-4

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

Ironically, the Pharo Smalltalk solution also ended up resembling the Raku solution (with its own gcd: function also appearing as an “infix” operator between the two minimum- and maximum-returning functions).

programming-languages-5

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

But Hoekstra’s viewers had pointed out that Raku also has a dedicated minmax function that can return both values at once — resulting in another single-line solution where that result becomes the input for Raku’s gcd function.

programming-languages-6

Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages

“I do prefer this,” Hoekstra said. “Any time you can use an algorithm that’s going to do a single pass instead of two passes … I think that’s much preferable.”

Fun with Fortran

In the first video, Hoekstra ranked Fortran’s solution as the worst, calling it one of those languages cluttered with “ceremony.” But his solution came with a disclaimer. “Note that this is the first Fortran piece of code that I’ve written in my life, so odds are there’s probably better ways to do this … After 40 minutes of just getting this code up and running, I called it a day.”

Read More:   Walmart Debuts Electrode, an Open Source Platform for React/Node.js Apps – InApps Technology 2022

But in the follow-up video, Hoekstra acknowledged that “The response that I got from the Fortran community was so amazing.”

The respondents included Jacob Williams, a Fortran programmer and orbital mechanic at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

And Hoekstra’s video also drew a response from Milan Curcic, a long-time Fortran programmer and author of the book “Modern Fortran.” On Twitter, Curic thanked Hoekstra for including Fortran and suggested an alternate implementation (which includes a greatest-common-denominator function that was proposed for the language in March).

Hoekstra learned that the temporary res variable wasn’t necessary, since the result could just be returned without separately assigning it. And some new syntactic sugar in Fortran now allows the length of a list to be indicated with just a colon — rather than Hoekstra’s unwieldy variable numsSize — which eliminates the need for an entire line of code assigning it to a dedicated variable.

“We went from what we had before to just basically two lines in the body of our function,” Hoekstra said.  “So this, I thought, was absolutely awesome!”

He is thrilled that a new comment on its issue ticket on GitHub now even specifically mentions his video.

“The Fortran language Twitter account even retweeted my initial video tweet saying they’re going to work on improving their tutorials in the future, but just thanks for covering it — which I thought was awesome,” he added.

Hoekstra called the response “a model of how a community should act if they’re trying to get people to be more excited about their language.”

He concluded, “I hope you learned something from this video, as I definitely did from the comments.”


Solving One Problem with 16 Programming Languages: FAQ

What is leetcode?

Leetcode is a practice platform for software challenges. It contains a ton of code tasks on a variety of topics. It is beneficial for anyone who wants to practice coding tasks or prepare for interviews. It is one of several similar websites. LeetCode’s database of questions and the accompanying resources for learning the required concepts.

How to solve leetcode problems?

LeetCode is available at three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard.

  • Begin with the easy tasks and work your way up to the more difficult ones.
  • Begin with the questions that have received positive feedback. Not all LeetCode questions are made equal.
  • Skip the ones you believe are too simple for you.

Going through the following steps:

  • Recognize the issue
  • Determine the data’s input and output.
  • Make high-level pseudocode.
  • Make the code.
  • Improve the solution.
“}” data-sheets-userformat=”{“2″:513,”3”:{“1″:0},”12″:0}”>[sociallocker id="2721"]

List of Keywords users find our article on Google:

raku programming language
topcoder
leetcode problems
leetcode python
hire clojure developers
codeforces
leetcode wiki
math splat
python leetcode
youtube problem
hire fortran developers
divisores de 84
hire haskell developers
hackerrank reviews
hackerrank vs leetcode
arrow vision youtube
github leetcode
hire youtube api developers
leetcode
“elixir” “functional language”
“rosetta” “blockchain”
max and ruby youtube
bqn
part time fortran programmer vacatures
clojure jobs
last minute ho chi minh city
leetcode points
fortran wiki
hire clojure developer
devops reactions
haskell function
haskell import
python feature flags
youtube problem today
codeforces github
leetcode wikipedia
linkedin julia for data scientists first look
leetcode amazon
codeforces solution
leet code python
hearts of space youtube
leetcode easy
what is coding wikipedia
leetcode contest
iter youtube
max and ruby you tube
rust leetcode
programmer wall art
leetcode c++
cobol programmer jobs
moody’s analytics reviews
fortran programmer jobs
hackerrank solution in python
hire gcd developer
leetcode data science
find point hackerrank solution
between two sets hackerrank solution python
leetcode rust
vacatures part time fortran programmer
leetcode data science python
topcoder hackerrank
hackerrank problem solving
pre-programming: everything you need to know before you code [author] videos
www hackerrank com
hackerrank data structures
cobol developer jobs
leetcode format code
hackerrank vs topcoder
leetcode problem list
cobol jobs usa
influxdb php
elixir developer jobs
hire haskell developer
fortran programmer job
haskell developer jobs
leetcode twitter
can i upload same video with different language on youtube
extrema tickets
leetcode 287
leetcode must do problems list
python upload video to youtube
youtube monitoring software
part time cobol jobs
leetcode solutions
topcoder.com
top coder
hire perl developers
cobol wiki
fortran cmplx
haskell vs elixir
splat math
youtube problems
youtube monitoring app
leetcode free
pharo smalltalk
fortran
software
julia vs haskell
facebook error
youtube backend language
nvidia leetcode
youtube app programming language
rust language
youtube ats
leetcode youtube
youtube backend framework
toby youtube
johnson space center wiki
linkedin programming foundations: object-oriented design videos
leetcode.com
rosetta youtube
amazon leetcode
easy leetcode
leetcode github
linkedin julia for data scientists first look online
youtube syntax
youtube one two three go
issues youtube
linkedin julia for data scientists first look videos
“moody’s analytics”
leetcode linkedin
object oriented programming youtube
linkedin programming foundations: object-oriented design
youtube problem solving
bqn programming language
data structures wikipedia
leetcode logo
saigon post youtube
data structures and algorithms youtube
leetcode ruby
youtube max i ruby
is youtube saas
is language line solutions legit
leet code problems
racket language wikipedia
syntax youtube
max i ruby youtube
youtube max and ruby
youtube programming
leetcode dsa problems
you tube max and ruby
youtube how to program
c programming youtube
eve online youtube
how firm a foundation youtube
leetcode icon
max & ruby youtube
data structures youtube
divisores wikipedia
leetcode vs codeforces
travel ruby youtube
ux youtube
amazon programming language
youtube im yours
max et ruby youtube
youtube the mechanic
what is gist github
devops youtube
find the number python hackerrank
fortran jobs
game development youtube
hackerrank front end
leetcode php
nyt opinion youtube
raku tool
youtube two of hearts
be the one youtube
is there a problem with youtube today
elementor youtube
hackerrank haskell
leetcode contest solutions
data structures in rust
leetcode contests
youtube one day more
array game hackerrank solution
rust num complex
topcoder javascript
youtube dna results
julia language wiki
leetcode all solutions
orbital recruitment
youtube game development
amazon cloudwatch reviews
rust data structures
what happened to jeff hammond
wiki programming languages
youtube ux designer
apl unicode
easy leetcode problems
facebook haskell
leetcode solutions python
objectstyle
vacatures part time fortran programmeur
you tube one of us
youtube fan noise
divisores de 3450
solve the following initial value problem
ui ux youtube
code foces
range of greatest integer function is
what is leetcode
find the number hackerrank
hackerrank python solutions
leetcode explore
rust iterate over array
facebook leetcode list
influxdb math
problem solving hackerrank
leetcode status
leetcode tutorials
clojure spec
haskell array
read input hackerrank python
rust iter
team body project youtube
rust iter any
software do monitoringu youtube
youtube programming tutorials
fortran programming jobs
leetcode like sites
vacatures part time fortran developer
youtube api python
cobol programming book
find the solution of the initial value problem:
leetcode algorithm
leetcode import
the haskell company jobs
codeforces books
facebook apl
full-time cobol programmer vacatures
gcd of array
hackerrank find the number
leetcode vs hackerrank
cobol pic value
deep l ruby
divisor de video
julia data structures
mathematical symbols wiki
part time fortran developer vacatures
error reading influxdb
python programming wiki
youtube ui ux design
cobol programming jobs
data structures wiki
denominator wiki
gist github
hackerrank kotlin
part time cobol programmer vacatures
rust math library
signify jobs recruitment
clojure core.typed
divisor de 16
hire cobol developer
free version of leetcode
one for all programming
raku toronto
ascii youtube
best youtube channel to learn data structures and algorithms
hacker rank problem solving
leetcode book
leetcode for product managers
leetcode review
universal translation services reviews
cobol array
programmer vidéo twitter
topcoder com
which operator is used to signify the namespace
haskell core
max min hackerrank
clojure maps
codeforces wiki
hire elixir developer
haskell foundation
haskell length of list
hire cobol developers
length of list haskell
nvidia rapids ai
clojure symbols
data science competitions for beginners
julia array length
offshore mechanic jobs
ruby max function
rust array syntax
clojure keywords
jobs cobol programmer
rust get array length
rust temporary value created here
youtube schedule template
youtube symbols
array perl
big language solutions
clojure let
gist translation definition
haskell documentation
lastminute rust
each_value ruby
haskell functions list
inits haskell
hackerrank logo
haskell read file line by line
one xs max programming
elegance developers
youtube comment returned error
hire elixir developers
rust unwrap
free leetcode
haskell jobs
rust 2 dimensional array
trustpilot youtube
haskell list function
influxdb syntax
julia functions
mod fortran
perl data structures
single number leetcode solution
Read More:   Creating Value for Your Enterprise with Continuous Delivery – InApps Technology 2022

“}” data-sheets-userformat=”{“2″:513,”3”:{“1″:0},”12″:0}”>

 

Rate this post
As a Senior Tech Enthusiast, I bring a decade of experience to the realm of tech writing, blending deep industry knowledge with a passion for storytelling. With expertise in software development to emerging tech trends like AI and IoT—my articles not only inform but also inspire. My journey in tech writing has been marked by a commitment to accuracy, clarity, and engaging storytelling, making me a trusted voice in the tech community.

Let’s create the next big thing together!

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

Let’s talk

Get a custom Proposal

Please fill in your information and your need to get a suitable solution.

    You need to enter your email to download

      [cf7sr-simple-recaptcha]

      Success. Downloading...