>I don't understand why people get so passionate about programming languages. They are tools.

Because when you're a professional programmer, tools are a huge part of what you do and how you do it, same like a race driver would need to be passionate about cars.

It's just that for an e.g. carpenter, tools are more or less standadized and simple enough to evaluate.

If saws and hammers and routers had as much variety as programming language tooling, and were as multi-faceted to evalute, carpenters would be absolutely obsessed with using the good ones - even more so than they already are.

> Because when you're a professional programmer, tools are a huge part of what you do and how you do it, same like a race driver would need to be passionate about cars.

I am a professional programmer. Have been one for more than two decades. And perhaps for professionalism, I think there is no space for passion when it comes to choosing the tools of the trade. Passion would make me pick unsuitable tools because well, I would be passionate. Passionate people don't tend to make rational decisions.

I would expect a professional carpenter to be the same. They may have preferences due to familiarity, positive experiences, etc and so forth. But passion?

I think if you tried to tell a professional carpenter that you'd replaced the contents of their toolbox with the equivalent pieces from a discount hardware store you'd be looking for your teeth on the floor.

I certainly wouldn't give up my electronic hardware repair tools without a struggle, it took me years to find ones that I like!