Google Developed a New Language Logica - What, Why and Why
As the legendary Barney Stinson said, "new is always better than old." But will this rule apply to programming languages? And why, in principle, are new languages created?Logica
In April of this year, Google announced the creation of a new programming language — Logica (logic + aggregation), which is an open-source logical programming language (similar to Datalog) and became the successor to their previously developed Yedalog language. This code is compiled into SQL, with the difference that it is shorter, supports abstraction social media marketing service mechanisms and makes query testing easier. It runs in Google BigQuery (you will need Google Cloud Project), and Python3 will need to be installed to run the programs themselves on your computer. The main structural element was the predicate — an expression in which the value has a logical result (argument).
And now a little more detail. To begin with, it is worth noting that SQL, although it was developed half a century ago, is still very popular and many systems read data thanks to SQL, be it small applications or large IT solutions. So why should we abandon the time-tested language? Because it is still not perfect, and it is not surprising that there are enthusiasts who want to eliminate those very shortcomings. Among the most important ones:
verbosity, long strings of English words required to construct statements, which means that a single query can consist of hundreds of lines;
insufficient support for abstraction.
Systems based on logic programming seek to overcome these limitations of SQL by using the syntax of mathematical propositional logic rather than natural language (English).
So we come back to Logica, which handles the problems above and, in addition, small parts of logic can be organized into packages and then passed to create new elements of logic. This process is also difficult in SQL, and some functions are impossible at all. To see the difference between Logica and SQL using a specific example, follow the link .
It is also worth noting the fact that Logica allows you to expand the classic syntax of logical programming - through the use of aggregations (the spoiler was in the name of the language).
Now let's talk about the prospects of Logica
To assess the risks of a new programming language, whether it will fail or succeed, it is enough to estimate the range of its possible prevalence. There are millions of programmers in the world, and about 10 million of them work with SQL. Will this be enough, given that the target audience of Logica will be all SQL developers? More than enough.
However, it is quite difficult to predict the prospects of any language, especially when it comes to conservatism. Some will not want to relearn, and some will prefer a reliable and proven method that has already become the standard in working with databases. As we have already said above, many people use SQL in different industries. And the unwillingness to take risks and be "pioneers" can be accepted at the board level.
If you are interested in a new language, you can read the full guide here . This is not a call to start using it right now. But we are always for being "open" to something new - at least you will be able to better study logical programming and try to make the code more concise and readable. Or it may turn out that Logica will respond to you and you will be able to contribute to the development of this language. In any case, its creators will definitely be glad to find like-minded people.
Comment from an expert
"In my opinion, the language is very specific. It contains a large number of special characters. This is another syntax that requires study. SQL is not perfect. But who among us is perfect?) And in fact, it is comfortable to use, if you have managed to get to know it better. SQL is an analytical and at the same time programmatic language, it has established itself as a high-quality tool not only for working with DBMS, but also for writing code. Therefore, I do not think that Logica will gain some exceptional popularity. But they will definitely talk about this new product as a new tool, and it is worth doing. This is normal practice - to know what is there, what is popular, what you can encounter. A couple of years ago, I learned about Gherkin in this way. How is it related to queries? Nothing. It just also "automates", "optimizes" things, only in design documentation and testing. Yes, it is interesting. Yes, it is new. Someone uses it. But it has not become fundamental. Many have probably never heard of such a thing. And this is normal. Therefore, I would rather attribute Logica to at this stage to tools, the existence of which would be nice to know. For example, CRM has its own tools for queries, profile-adapted. That is, to what extent optimization will occur here with the help of Logica, how labor-intensive the implementation of the language is... It is too early to say. But I am sure that users will definitely be found. At the very least, it is interesting to "touch". Evaluating a tool that you have not worked with in detail is a difficult task and a little incorrect. In any case, it is great that life does not stand still. And there are resources for that very optimization and search for new solutions."
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