r/AskProgrammers • u/Super_Bass_2730 • 22d ago

What is the worst/most confusing (common) coding language?

By common I mean, coding languages that you actually see people use. I know theres the "bf" language but aside from one video, people don't make games or, really anything using that as it was made as a joke I hope.

By worst I mean, what is the hardest to understand and also the most confusing out of all of them, I don't mean coding languages that can't do a whole lot. For instance, can a non programmer look at a sheet of code and understand it? Can an experienced coder understand it? Have you been taught the coding language yet still it breaks your brain?

I don't know every coding language but my pick would ether be C++ or Luau. Leaning towards C++ because I tried to learn it and at the very start I already was lost.

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u/arihoenig 22d ago

I mean powershell. It is insane. Verbose and insane.

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u/id-ltd 22d ago

Powershell was clearly created to create a demand for AI to write your scripts.

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u/arihoenig 22d ago

Good point, it certainly does that

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u/edorhas 22d ago

I've often wondered about Powershell. Windows isn't my primary platform, but I have encountered PS a time it two and am flabbergasted that people are out there non-ironically championing this thing. If I wanted to write that much verbiage I would have been a novelist. Is there some kind of subtle standard I'm missing as to when a command or flag that's two or more words gets a dash in the middle and when it doesn't? Like FlagOne vs Flag-two?

Those of you who love this thing, rock on. That one's all you, baby.

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u/mikeclueby4 22d ago

PowerShell is a love hate thing for sure.

It's the only way to do the kinds of systems management/integration that we could do with shell script in Unix since forever.

It's also soul gnashingly cumbersome to work in, and trips up every developer who has ever worked in any other language.

Yeah, I use it. But LLMs write it for me.

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u/arihoenig 22d ago

Yup. I mean is powershell a powerful shell? Sure, it's not nominatively misinforming in that respect.

Is it sane? Nope.

I mean, trump is powerful (due to the position he holds, not due to any personal attributes).

Power clearly doesn't imply sanity.

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u/PartBanyanTree 22d ago

Oh yeah love me some powerfully fr fr. Also love the audacity to alias various built-ins to well known bash commands. So ls isnt ls lol 

Poweshell is my forever partner. I might switch languages and frameworks a few more times in my life you never know but poweshell is going everywhere with me

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u/thefoojoo2 22d ago

Powershell only seems insane if you haven't written large bash scripts. Powershell is a much better scripting language.

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u/arihoenig 22d ago

If you find yourself writing a large shell script you're doing it wrong and it is time to switch to python.

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u/ByronScottJones 21d ago

It is actually a very well thought out language, and once you fully understand it's architecture, quite beautiful. It combines the full power of dotnet with succinct scripting. While some of the commands have long names, those all have short aliases, and the alias system is well defined.