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With the “small” caveat that C's design tradeoffs don't make it as good a general-purpose programming language as Java is, at least in 2016, no idea about 1995.

With the “small” caveat that C's design tradeoffs don't make it as good a general-purpose programming language as Java is, at least in 2016, no idea about 1995. Not that I think Java should be used for everything.

pjmlp 11y ago
In 1993 I was using Turbo Pascal 6.0 for systems programming in MS-DOS. Short list of TP 6.0 features in 1993! - Real type safe enumerations - Proper strings and vectors - modules (units) - Fast compilation (seconds) - OOP - Type safe reference parameters - inline assembler, naked functions, absolute addresses, pointer manipulation functions, customizable memory allocator, overlays, procedure/function variables for systems programming tasks C++ was already picking up steam in Windows and Mac OSes and with CORBA and DCOM for enterprise systems, the precursors to J2EE. If it wasn't for the widespread of FOSS software based on UNIX and C culture, C would have slowly faded out.
- catnaroek 11y ago
  In 1993, I was just 5 years old, but, when I encountered Delphi, around 2000, it was a very pleasant improvement over Microsoft's offerings: (0) Compiler: Super-fast compilation times, unlike Visual C++; and super-fast generated executables, unlike Visual Basic. (1) Libraries: Borland's VCL was vastly more sophisticated than either Visual Basic's controls [underpowered toys] or Visual C++'s MFC [barely more usable than the Windows API itself]. (2) Core language: Of course, from Pascal, Delphi inherited a real module system [not C++'s `#ifndef` nonsense], real strings [not C++'s `std::string`, let alone MFC's `CString` nonsense] and real dynamically allocated arrays [not C's pointer nonsense, although C++'s templatized containers hadn't taken off yet]. And Delphi's object system was something a normal human being could actually hope to understand, unlike C++'s multiple virtual inheritance mess.
  - pjmlp 11y ago
    Yes, but then Borland had to screw it all up and now even the last compiler developers that go all back to Delphi early days have left the company.

pjmlp 11y ago

In 1993 I was using Turbo Pascal 6.0 for systems programming in MS-DOS. Short list of TP 6.0 features in 1993! - Real type safe enumerations - Proper strings and vectors - modules (units) - Fast compilation (seconds) - OOP - Type safe reference parameters - inline assembler, naked functions, absolute addresses, pointer manipulation functions, customizable memory allocator, overlays, procedure/function variables for systems programming tasks C++ was already picking up steam in Windows and Mac OSes and with CORBA and DCOM for enterprise systems, the precursors to J2EE. If it wasn't for the widespread of FOSS software based on UNIX and C culture, C would have slowly faded out.

catnaroek 11y ago
In 1993, I was just 5 years old, but, when I encountered Delphi, around 2000, it was a very pleasant improvement over Microsoft's offerings: (0) Compiler: Super-fast compilation times, unlike Visual C++; and super-fast generated executables, unlike Visual Basic. (1) Libraries: Borland's VCL was vastly more sophisticated than either Visual Basic's controls [underpowered toys] or Visual C++'s MFC [barely more usable than the Windows API itself]. (2) Core language: Of course, from Pascal, Delphi inherited a real module system [not C++'s `#ifndef` nonsense], real strings [not C++'s `std::string`, let alone MFC's `CString` nonsense] and real dynamically allocated arrays [not C's pointer nonsense, although C++'s templatized containers hadn't taken off yet]. And Delphi's object system was something a normal human being could actually hope to understand, unlike C++'s multiple virtual inheritance mess.
- pjmlp 11y ago
  Yes, but then Borland had to screw it all up and now even the last compiler developers that go all back to Delphi early days have left the company.