> Here's a neat idea: wouldn't it be cool and save a lot of time if the compiler did this for you automatically, from the start? Yes, but when the project star

> Here's a neat idea: wouldn't it be cool and save a lot of time if the compiler did this for you automatically, from the start? Yes, but when the project started the only existing compiler that met all requirements was C (also C++, although that was not chosen, by reasoning I disagree with). We are in a domain where we derive material benefits from the low-level control C gives us (we have a bunch of highly specialized memory management and I/O), and are not willing to accept GC pauses. There's a common sentiment that we would have used Rust if it had existed when we started, but it didn't so we didn't and so it goes.