> It's like arguing that there is "lock-in" because one project is written in C# and the other in Javascript. Seems like stretching the concept of "lock-in" too thin.
This is absolutely an instance of lock-in. An ecosystem grows faster when it can borrow from other ecosystems but doesn't allow doing the same. This is exactly the same problem: there is no good FFI, so we have to write M libraries times N languages.
I agree that M libraries x N languages is an absurd reality (and why I still write C), but "lock-in" to me suggests intent, and the situation you describe is more accidental, at least if you exclude corporate languages like .NET and such.
This is absolutely an instance of lock-in. An ecosystem grows faster when it can borrow from other ecosystems but doesn't allow doing the same. This is exactly the same problem: there is no good FFI, so we have to write M libraries times N languages.