[E-Lang] empirical and statistical comparison of languages

[Marc Stiegler]

> The Java code was written in 1997/1998 -- the Collection API wasn't added
til
> the end of 1998.

Yeah, but there was a hashTable in the API on the first day it shipped.

The author did note that the Java programmers might be less skilled than
counterparts in other languages since it was early in Java's evolution. That
could have had something to do with it.

The other thing I personally guess might have had something to do with it
is, all these things in the Java API require you to either have an eidetic
memory or to look up the class methods and constructors in a book. Python
(and E) not only come bundled with hashtable/map structures, they come with
built-in, intuitive array-style syntax for using them. I use maps in E
without even thinking about it; using maps in Java almost always requires
that I track it down in java.util.

Personally, I think I still would have used the Java hashtables if faced
with this problem, but I would have had sympathy for people who didn't.

--marcs