# K programming language

6 Hacker News commenters recommended K programming language and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A terse array language that people recommend for its simple, compact notation in REPL experiments and quick ideas. Critics call it esoteric and hard to read, with some saying solutions are hard for others to follow.

## Why people recommend it

- Simple, concise notation (2 comments): "refreshingly simple and effective once you manage to overcome indoctrination you received since elementary school" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48729495)) "K is an equally excellent notation for experimenting in a REPL or discussing ideas on a whiteboard." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45893834))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Rust](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rust.md): 2039 recommend
- [Go](https://hackerapproved.com/p/go-programming-language.md): 1254 recommend
- [Python](https://hackerapproved.com/p/python.md): 1067 recommend
- [Zig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zig.md): 743 recommend
- [TypeScript](https://hackerapproved.com/p/typescript.md): 574 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "K programming language", https://hackerapproved.com/p/k/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).