Starlark, originally developed as a custom build rule DSL for Bazel, is a hermetic subset of Python designed for build systems. It offers benefits such as reproducibility and deterministic outcomes, primarily useful for complex builds. However, its minimalist and dynamically-typed nature can lead to messy codebases, making large-scale projects difficult to manage. There are ongoing comparisons with other languages like Lua and MicroPython, and its implementations exist in Go, Rust, and Java, with a potential focus on type annotations in some cases. Several users highlight its advantages while also acknowledging the complexities and learning curves associated with adopting Starlark, as well as its limited use outside build systems.