So when I started programming in 2001, it was du jour in the communities I participated in to be highly critical of other languages. Other languages sucked, the people using them were losers or stupid, if they would just use a real language, such as the one we used, everything would just be better.
Right?
This sort of culturally-encoded language was really prevalent around condemning PHP and Java. Developers in these languages were actively referred to as less competent than developers in the other, more blessed languages.
And at the time, as a new developer, I internalised this pretty heavily. The language I was in was blessed, obviously, not because I was using it but because it was better designed than a language like PHP, less wordy and annoying than Java, more flexible than many other options.
It didn’t matter that it was (and remains) difficult to read, it was that we were better for using it.
I repeated this pattern for a really long time, and as I learned new languages and patterns I’d repeat the same behaviour in those new environments. I was almost certainly not that fun to be around, a microcosm of the broader unpleasantness in tech.
At least, until I got called on it.
The same also applies to other things, like tools.
I’m working in Java ecosystem and there’s a noticeable trend to look down on people who don’t use IntelliJ Idea. I’ve recently joined a new project and I was strongly encouraged to use it. Therefore I’m currently 3 weeks into my 4th attempt over past 10 years to switch to this tool and it simply doesn’t work for me. I’ve been using Eclipse since around 2007, know it very well and it gets the job done. I will not claim that it is better than Idea. I just don’t think switching would give me enough return on investment. Especially now, as I’m still learning the new project.
Another reason not to switch is to avoid becoming dependant on an expensive tool. My current team is using Ultimate edition and I’ve noticed that they are really depending on the extra features.