BQN
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 3 of 7 array programming languages by recommenders
Recommended as a well-documented, APL-style array language with a high-performance implementation. Caveat: it is new and its notation is unlike standard math notation.
Recommended as a well-documented, APL-style array language with a high-performance implementation. Caveat: it is new and its notation is unlike standard math notation.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well documented, better than K derivatives
“Much better documented than K derivatives.”
Comment from 22 May 2026 in “Thinking in an Array Language” “BQN documentation has a great read on why”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Thinking in an Array Language” Well-built, high-performance implementation
“BQN is a new take on APL w/ high performance implementation”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Thinking in an Array Language” “BQN & CBQN are absolutely wonderful pieces of code.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “A new runtime for k and q: l” Good fit for array programming
“BQN or its ancestor APL are good for this.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “Advent of Code 2025” “then BQN will probably suit your tastes”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Thinking in an Array Language”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Notation too dissimilar to blackboard math
“Too dissimilar to the blackboard although I really do like them”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Calculus with Julia”
Other array programming languages people recommend
The four most recommended other array programming languages, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J programming language | 23 | 10 | 70% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Uiua | 20 | 4 | 83% | 9 | — | Approved |
| BQNThis page | 11 | 2 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
| K programming language | 11 | 5 | 69% | 5 | — | Approved |
| kdb+ q | 7 | 1 | 88% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 19 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Too dissimilar to the blackboard although I really do like them”
“Also bqn is a very new language, it's not ready to be used for classroom teaching purposes.”
“they’re both just overall too slow”
“BQN & CBQN are absolutely wonderful pieces of code.”
“unlike klong/ngn/bqn et al (which are GREAT)”
“the results are not great”
“It has some modern affordances as well.”
“BQN documentation has a great read on why”
“BQN is a new take on APL w/ high performance implementation”
“then BQN will probably suit your tastes”
“Much better documented than K derivatives.”
“Offshoots like BQN and Uiua have nice communities too.”
“I find the custom symbols of APL and BQN to be easier to type and read”
“BQN or its ancestor APL are good for this.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.