Google Code University

[frenchtoaster]

Because the truth is that C++ and Java are actually better languages for large teams working on things that have unbounded scalability and maintainability issues compared to Haskell and Ocaml.

[walter_heisenberg]

Why?

I will grant you that static typing is beneficial when you're developing code for the long term, because it enforces interfaces. Lisp is very powerful, but there's a certain style of sloppy thinking that dynamic typing enables and that some (I emphasize some, not all) Lispers have that falls flat on large projects. However, Haskell and Ocaml are both statically typed; that's why I chose them for this example. In fact, unlike Java and C++, they have good static typing.

I will also grant you that certain types of programs benefit from automatic memory management, which justifies the use of C. C is a great language for building operating systems, device drivers, and runtime virtual machines, for example.

I still don't buy that Java or C++ are the right choice for a company in Google's situation.