These things are simply nice things, but they do not make a language bad or superiour. I have a lot of experience with Progress, .NET, C++ and some other programming languages. These things are not the ones that will decide for me what language to use. It depends on the job I have to do. For business applications I would choose Progress over all others. To develop User Interface I would develop in .NET or Java. It all depends on your needs, and not if you can code i++ or if you have to write i = i
+ 1.
Well in my opinion these things DO make a language more superior.
When you cannot work with dynamic arrays and multipe dimentional arrays, when in other languages you have a "bunch" of functions for working with strings, arrays, objects, xml's etc...
Anyway I just worked with Progress for the last 7 months and I just quit my job because of this. It was a jump "back in time".
The second thing is the support. Forums like these are a needed resource for a Programmer. Just look around how many members are in a C#, Java, PHP forums and how you receive the answers there. Millions of users.... and that also makes a difference.
But still, I will respect any programming language and the programmers that work with them, no matter what my opinion is. I just wanted to highlight some things. Personally I was really frustrated about how static and limited Progress is, so for me soon it will be History.
Anyway, wish you all the best in the Future!