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Programing language for startup

1 points by Designer ↗ HN
I am reposting this question as I realized I was not specific enough the first time around. I have a startup that will need a lot of the functionality of Airbnb site. It is in a different space however tje features available on airbnb are very similar to what I will need tomhave built. My question is, what language should I build this startup in? I am talking to several differnt programmers, each who are suggesting a differnt language. Before anyone suggests just going with the best programmer and don't worry about the language, be assured that I am considering that however I am not interested inhiring just one person but ratjer building a company with many future programmers. The three languages I am comnsidering are PHP, Java, and Ruby on Rails. I am looking for a language that will have the functionality that I want, be scalable if the company takes off, and be a language that a lot of programers know to make future hiring easier at a price that a startup can afford. Which of these languages wouldmyou most recomend and are there any others I have missed that I should be considering? Thanks in advance for your help! Steve

7 comments

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Designer
Sorry for the Typos. The Ipad loves to change the text as you write it.
jimdaniel
If you are not a programmer, I would try to find a technical co-founder who can make deeply-informed decisions about things like this based on your current direction and goals. This is not the sort of question you can get the best answer for online, IMO. Also consider, there will be about a thousand other technical questions that arise as you go - going to ask about those here too? But to answer your question, use RoR :-)
thaumaturgy
The only recommendations you're going to get from programmers are for their favorite language.

Mostly because there's no objective advantage between the three; a competent programmer (or programmers) in any of those can build anything that a competent programmer from any of the others can build.

brandoncordell
I don't think you'll find a definitive answer to this question. Mostly the answers you'll receive will just be conjecture.

With that being said I think it's best if you found a technical lead to help you out. Whether that be a co-founder or just someone you can bring in as a CTO. It's important to really have an idea about the technology as you receive suggestions. You should be able to actively participate in the choosing of the language/framework for your company. Just because the programmer you may hire likes Java best, or PHP best, doesn't mean it's going to be the best for your startup.

I think you should hire a programmer with a proven track record of getting things done and go from there. You don't want to choose a language, then hire a few developers that use that language and then figure out you need to redesign your whole stack to another language.

A lot of startups (it seems) go with Ruby on Rails, probably partly because of it's ability to allow you to create your MVP rather quickly.

jvoorhis
Look, startups aren't built with programming languages. Languages are a part, but you need to think more about people. In the early stages you need developers who are leaders, and who have a proven track record of shipping code. Work with them to build your product and build your team.
pbreit
Go with the best programmer and don't worry about the language. Seriously. First of all, it doesn't really matter. Second, you left off two better choices: python and .net. Finally, if this is the kind of thing you are worrying about, you are not qualified to make the decision.
LarryA
Programming is people coding upon the shoulders of others... or once the magician does his trick the trick changes from "impossible" to "there's a way to do it". Also some languages are better suited for some tasks than others.

Sounds like you want a path of least resistance, then look at what similar services are running on top of, if they pull off the features you desire those platforms would be something to take note of.

Next talk to the people who will be doing the work, see what they think, show them examples ("this is the magic I want on my site, can we pull it off with platform X? and can we do better by also implementing feature Y?") They know their tools and see behind the magic, they can tell you how they could pull it off with their tricks (some might even start their gears turning and give suggestions). Those that can see it and build upon it could be what you are looking for. Of course you want a team so get second and third opinions to build a consensus.