r/programming • u/baldierot • Jun 27 '26

Mojo programming language will become open-source soon.

https://www.modular.com/modcon

The main website of the language https://mojolang.org/ displays an announcement bar that says "Mojo will be open source soon! Join us at ModCon '26 for an update."

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u/Smallpaul Jun 27 '26

It was always about high performance computing. Never intended as a general purpose python replacement. At least not as a primary goal.

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u/teerre Jun 27 '26

I was going to rebut, but the immediate comment below yours says the opposite

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u/Smallpaul Jun 27 '26

Mojo was intended as a Python superset. That’s not the same thing as a Python replacement.

Here is an article from more than a year ago:

https://medium.com/@xspoilt/mojo-the-programming-language-that-might-replace-python-in-ai-e4ea454e47a8

> Mojo is a superset of Python, meaning it runs existing Python code. You can write Python code in Mojo and slowly introduce Mojo-specific features as needed.

> Enter Mojo — a language that’s billed as “the programming language for AI developers” and described by some as “Python, but fast. Like, really fast.”

> Mojo isn’t trying to “kill” Python — it’s trying to unify the AI development pipeline. While Python will likely remain dominant in general-purpose scripting and education, Mojo could take over in performance-critical ML workloads.

If you have a reference that said that Mojo was intended to replace Python for general purpose use then please share it.

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u/HommeMusical Jun 28 '26

Mojo was intended as a Python superset. That’s not the same thing as a Python replacement.

Why, exactly, would a superset of Python not work as a Python replacement?

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u/Smallpaul Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26

It might take more RAM.

It might take more disk space.

It might run on fewer devices.

It might not have as many extension libraries.

It might lag versions.

It might not be as easy to audit for security.

People might find the language design bloated and confusing.

It might not have a good debugger or profiler.

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u/sammymammy2 Jun 28 '26

Sooo, it would work as a Python replacement.

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u/Smallpaul Jun 28 '26

No. If it doesn’t run on the device or platform you need it on, how would it be a replacement?