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I'm interesting in your background: which languages do you use, and what kind of programs do you write? Perhaps it'll become clearer whether C++ is any use to y

I'm interesting in your background: which languages do you use, and what kind of programs do you write? Perhaps it'll become clearer whether C++ is any use to you or not. From the discussion I've read in this thread so far, it seems like you're claiming "what's the point of the entire field of mechanical engineering" when you, personally, just want to drive a car (not build one), fly on a plane (not build one) and so on.

doktrin 9y ago
> I'm interesting in your background: which languages do you use Scala, Java, C#, Obj-C / Swift, Python, JS. > what kind of programs do you write? At work : line of business, database / search / indexing systems, mobile apps, web apps At home : mobile apps, indie games > it seems like you're claiming "what's the point of the entire field of mechanical engineering" when you, personally, just want to drive a car (not build one), fly on a plane (not build one) and so on. You've misunderstood. What I'm claiming is that there are very few tasks at hobby-project scale that C++ is ideally suited for. C++ is a language that's used at team-scale, and is no longer an approachable language for the individual. In other words, with Java you can build Android apps, with C# you can build Unity games, with Python / JavaScript / Whatever you can build web apps. What can the individual do with C++ they couldn't do easier faster or better with some other language? Maybe embedded systems - but C seems just as effective for that domain. Likewise for kernel development for obvious reasons. I actually want a reason to use C++, but "well you can work on Photoshop or high performance computing or HFT plumbing software" is not a helpful answer - both for me and anyone else hoping to pick up Cpp in their spare time.
- pvaibhav2 9y ago
  Well if you're looking for anecdotal evidence: my last hobby project (OCR for a specific book+script), I used Mathematica to prototype (fast iteration) and C++ with OpenCV to implement it (way faster execution). I started the project in Python but switched because it wasn't particularly good at anything vs. the combination of Mathematica and C++. Actually I prototyped it in C++ too before doing some extra analysis in Mathematica only because it had some algorithms that OpenCV didn't.

doktrin 9y ago

> I'm interesting in your background: which languages do you use Scala, Java, C#, Obj-C / Swift, Python, JS. > what kind of programs do you write? At work : line of business, database / search / indexing systems, mobile apps, web apps At home : mobile apps, indie games > it seems like you're claiming "what's the point of the entire field of mechanical engineering" when you, personally, just want to drive a car (not build one), fly on a plane (not build one) and so on. You've misunderstood. What I'm claiming is that there are very few tasks at hobby-project scale that C++ is ideally suited for. C++ is a language that's used at team-scale, and is no longer an approachable language for the individual. In other words, with Java you can build Android apps, with C# you can build Unity games, with Python / JavaScript / Whatever you can build web apps. What can the individual do with C++ they couldn't do easier faster or better with some other language? Maybe embedded systems - but C seems just as effective for that domain. Likewise for kernel development for obvious reasons. I actually want a reason to use C++, but "well you can work on Photoshop or high performance computing or HFT plumbing software" is not a helpful answer - both for me and anyone else hoping to pick up Cpp in their spare time.

pvaibhav2 9y ago
Well if you're looking for anecdotal evidence: my last hobby project (OCR for a specific book+script), I used Mathematica to prototype (fast iteration) and C++ with OpenCV to implement it (way faster execution). I started the project in Python but switched because it wasn't particularly good at anything vs. the combination of Mathematica and C++. Actually I prototyped it in C++ too before doing some extra analysis in Mathematica only because it had some algorithms that OpenCV didn't.