Instagram and WhatsApp Scale Anyway

@GrapheneOS Instagram is largely written in Python and WhatsApp in Erlang, both relatively slow languages compared to C/C++/Rust/Zig/G yet they manage to scale. At a previous company, we had a Python ba

A cropped social-media post says that Instagram is largely written in Python and WhatsApp in Erlang, despite those languages being considered relatively slow compared with C, C++, Rust, and Zig. The joke is that these platforms still scale massively, contradicting simplistic claims that a programming language alone determines performance. It is shared as a reaction to arguments about programming-language speed and scalability. EN: A cropped social-media post says that Instagram is largely written in Python and WhatsApp in Erlang, despite those languages being considered relatively slow compared with C, C++, Rust, and Zig. The joke is that these platforms still scale massively, contradicting simplistic claims that a programming language alone determines performance. It is shared as a reaction to arguments about programming-language speed and scalability.

• @gentoomemes / 15676 2025-01-22