It's not always about algorithms. If you need, say, something that can parse rfc 822 messages, you have to read the rfc, implement it, find out which applications you need to talk to have implemented it incorrectly, and then work around those bugs. Even if you could write the implementation in 2 minutes, you've still got a time consuming task on your hands. Worse, you will probably need to implement more than one library for a medium sized application if you're using an unpopular language, so multipy the time it takes to finish the task above by x.
Sure, but somebody has to make a start, or we will be stuck with Java forever. Maybe you can often use libraries from other languages, too, as in the example of the Cairo lib.
>Sure, but somebody has to make a start, or we will be stuck with Java forever.
True. It's just better to go into it with open eyes.
> Maybe you can often use libraries from other languages, too, as in the example of the Cairo
That helps, but it's still a time consuming task to understand a standard and a C (or whatever) API, design your own API in the 100 year language of your choice, and implement it (and document it if you're really being good). I spent a fair amount binding C libraries for Chicken Scheme (which has a good C FFI) and Scheme48, so I know this from experience.
