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This is literally what stopped me from learning D a few years ago. I started reading about it, got intrigued, did some tutorial-style stuff, decided to try it o

This is literally what stopped me from learning D a few years ago. I started reading about it, got intrigued, did some tutorial-style stuff, decided to try it on a real project, and then realize that meant having to figure out which toolchain or choice of standard lib to use, and just gave up and used c++ as usual. If I was already familiar with the tradeoffs, or if I was very motived to learn D, I'm sure this wouldn't have been a big obstacle. There were plenty of resources explaining the difference and I'm sure there are more now. I'm just saying, anecdotally, that this was the roadblock for me.

jacquesm 8y ago
> realize that meant having to figure out which toolchain or choice of standard lib to use, and just gave up and used c++ as usual Once upon a time C++ was in much the same state.
- pjmlp 8y ago
  It still is, and C as well. Trying to write portable C99, C11, C++11, C++14, C++17 code can be an interesting experience depending on which compilers are available.
ptrott2017 8y ago
Interesting, I saw it the other way at least there is no single supplier...The best way I found to think of it was (though your mileage may vary with the analogy): DMD - gave latest features - its the shiny concept super car reference that shows whats coming next.. LDC - is the production sports car -integrates with rest of LLVM - and occasionally surprises with innovative features like Nicholas Wilson's brilliant D-compute. GCC - its the production workhorse, fits all pipelines, goes where you need it and does it with style - its the muscle car of D world. You pick the one that meets what you need/want. Ian Buclaw has really done a superb job piloting this into GCC and hopefully GCC support might get you to look at D again :-).
- joeld42 8y ago
  It's not so much different compilers, I don't remember the specifics, but at the time the impression I got was that each one had a very different standard library, so it would be hard to move from one to another. Maybe that's not the case anymore, or maybe I was mistaken. In any case, thats a good analogy, and I'll try to find an excuse to take another look at D. Having gcc support does sound like it would make things easier. Thanks.
  - jibal 8y ago
    The different standard libraries was a very serious pain point that was deadly to D's arc, but it was long ago and is no longer the case.
- Jedi72 8y ago
  Imagine you don't already know this though, to really make an informed choice you have to put in all the research just to know the answer to a very simple decision.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    yup, like it or not highly opinionated languages like Golang actually make beginners feel more comfortable as they're not confronted with choices they don't know they answers to at every turn

jacquesm 8y ago

> realize that meant having to figure out which toolchain or choice of standard lib to use, and just gave up and used c++ as usual Once upon a time C++ was in much the same state.

pjmlp 8y ago
It still is, and C as well. Trying to write portable C99, C11, C++11, C++14, C++17 code can be an interesting experience depending on which compilers are available.

ptrott2017 8y ago

Interesting, I saw it the other way at least there is no single supplier...The best way I found to think of it was (though your mileage may vary with the analogy): DMD - gave latest features - its the shiny concept super car reference that shows whats coming next.. LDC - is the production sports car -integrates with rest of LLVM - and occasionally surprises with innovative features like Nicholas Wilson's brilliant D-compute. GCC - its the production workhorse, fits all pipelines, goes where you need it and does it with style - its the muscle car of D world. You pick the one that meets what you need/want. Ian Buclaw has really done a superb job piloting this into GCC and hopefully GCC support might get you to look at D again :-).

joeld42 8y ago
It's not so much different compilers, I don't remember the specifics, but at the time the impression I got was that each one had a very different standard library, so it would be hard to move from one to another. Maybe that's not the case anymore, or maybe I was mistaken. In any case, thats a good analogy, and I'll try to find an excuse to take another look at D. Having gcc support does sound like it would make things easier. Thanks.
- jibal 8y ago
  The different standard libraries was a very serious pain point that was deadly to D's arc, but it was long ago and is no longer the case.
Jedi72 8y ago
Imagine you don't already know this though, to really make an informed choice you have to put in all the research just to know the answer to a very simple decision.
- kkarakk 8y ago
  yup, like it or not highly opinionated languages like Golang actually make beginners feel more comfortable as they're not confronted with choices they don't know they answers to at every turn