Can someone explain to me why all languages don't try to have the same syntax?
ardell: The problem with standardization is that you iron out all of the innovations.  Certain language constructs are simply better for certain tasks.  Lisp is built for recursion so it's great with lists.  Object-oriented languages in theory are great for modularity and maintainability.  Granted all these aspects have a lot to do with the coder in addition to the language.If all languages required you to manage memory as in C I'd wager we'd have many fewer entry-level script hackers.  Sure, every program would be lickety-split fast, but the App Store certainly wouldn't have 10,000+ apps.And if every app were written in Java everything would be very portable but also quite slow.  It's all about trade-offs and picking the right tool for the right job.