Dear folks I was wondering why there are so many languages for programming and scripting?
What I mean to say is that there are too many languages for such purposes these days and one person is not able to understand all of them.
Instead why don’t we humans have less number of languages which are more powerful?

And why they’ll become more powerful?
Well obviously when there are fewer languages there are more people related to each and when there are more people related to each one they’ll work more on them, thus making them more powerful.

Take a look at this list I mean its huge and still not all of them
HTML, XHTML, Java, C (Sharp), ASP, ASP.NET, Cold Fusion, PHP,JSP, Perl, WML, XML, Python, C, C++, Cool, TCL, XSL, REXX, Ruby, Rails, SVG
I have gathered this list from different sources.

well, you cant possibly have a perfect language that caters for all occasions. each language is optimized to cater to certain needs. eg: C++ / C for softwares mainly, PHP/ java for internet / mobie programs.

Therefore there is a need for different languages / scripts.

Although the list is huge, people tend to only stick to a selected well documented and proven languages, such as C++ / C, ASP, VB... ie: the more famous ones =D

But generally speaking, its very easy to master another language once u learn a type of programming language. The syntax, the way of thinking is more or less the same, just that you would probably have to read through what functions are available for each language, how to use them, syntax etc

Different language usage doesn't meant that it can't be used on different platforms btw...

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Acctually I am not saying that there has to be only one language but fewer

Hmmm, why don't we have fewer verbal languages so we can understand one another? Probably because we're human?

Most languages get started because at that time the current languages don't quite do what someone wants it to do easily. So he/she writes a script to do what is needed. He then adds to that script and eventually gets the idea that he's on the road to a new language. So he develops this language to solve problems that other languages can't handle easily.

Or a research team wishes to solve a problem (or create a solution for a type of problem) and no language really is adequate. So, using an existing language they design and implement a new language.

In some cases a company wants to create a new language to
1) as above, create a language that fills a specific need
2) create a language to try to capture a market that someone else's language already has already captured.


Where do you get this idea? Back in the 80's there were more operating systems to choose from. Now there is basically one. And that one has so many holes and problems... it's a joke.

Yes, there are other O/S's available, but none are real competition to Windows -- yet. The closest we had was OS/2 but they blew it in the marketing arena. Linux is still a geek OS, not for the faint of keyboard. Anything else I'm aware of just isn't appropriate for the casual or business user.

As for your conjecture about fewer programs == more developers -- this is simply untrue. That's not how business works.

HTML = a watered down XML specifically for web pages
XHTML = a more powerful version of HTML to add capabilities, still XML based
ASP = Microsoft's version of PHP. Heaven knows they can't use what already exists.
ASP.NET = ASP with teeth so M$ can capture more business, only works with their servers.
C# = C++ with dedicated web extensions into .NET Framework
Cold Fusion = Macromedia felt they could do better than PHP/ASP for web-based data base use
etc...

Let's bo back in time with some of the earlier languages:
COBOL - Common Business Oriented Language - designed to create business applications, it was believed ordinary business people would be able to use it (didn't work that way)
FORTRAN - FORmula Translation - Designed for scientific applications. Generic enough for a wide variety of additional applications.
BASIC - Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code - designed to be easy to learn, teaches coding techniques. Unfortunately also teaches poor style.
Pascal - Another beginning language without most of the poor style of BASIC
Algol - Algorithmic Language - report algorithms in print and designed to avoid some of the perceived problems with FORTRAN
SNOBOL - String Oriented symbolic Language - text manipulation language widely used in the humanities
Lisp - List Processing - became the favored artificial intelligence research language
BLISS - Basic Language for Implementation of System Software - perhaps the best known systems programming language right up until C made its debut a few years later.
and so on...

So as you can see, different languages created for different purposes. Each has their benefits and drawbacks.

So bottom line -- the more languages we have, the better able to pick the right tool for the right job. Remember, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

For more info on programming languages, check out the info here. And for a real eye-opener (you claim your list is huge), check out the wikipedia list.

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I didn't say that my list of languages is huge

Why don't expand the current one why to go for newer one?

Really? Your first post:
What did I miss?

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For the same reason that if
1) you're sewing a shirt, you don't just expand it to include pants...
2) you're building a car you don't just add wings and a rudder...
3) you're cooking lasagna you don't add chocolate sauce and gum drops...

As I said, a language is designed for a purpose and it's extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to add functionality that strays from that purpose. And if you do get other functionality added it's hard to use, buggy, and usually doesn't make sense.

Examples:
C/C++ is lousy at string manipulation, SNOBOL is designed specifically for it. But SNOBOL is rotten at anything with all but rudimentary calculations, C++ shines.

Fortran sucks as a business language, COBOL works well. But I wouldn't try a communications program in COBOL, but with Fortran it's easy.

RPG-II is wonderful at creating reports, but it can't do anything else, BASIC and Algol are difficult at reporting, but good at most everything else.

So it's a matter of what you want to accomplish. There can never be only one language because there are simply some jobs a language will not be able to do well. And any "one language fits all" will be a horrendously difficult language to use and understand.

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Age is unimportant -- except in cheese

If it is really necessary to make a new language for every single task then why they make difference in syntax??? Why can't we have a simple syntax for a lot of things?

some language syntax are defined as such to make it easier and more efficient for the compiler to detect errors, faster compilation; for whatever purpose that language serves to do.

Google search on BNF notation to find out roughly how compilers detect syntax, and to check for syntax error.

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