> What is the exact aspect of "systems programming" that precludes the use of higher-level languages which are safe by default? Unless we are writing device dri

> What is the exact aspect of "systems programming" that precludes the use of higher-level languages which are safe by default? Unless we are writing device drivers or OS kernels, why are we using these low-level languages for mission-critical applications? IMHO "systems" here means running on an OS, not network systems or internet apps. So None, but you want to write libraries that are easily linked to all manners of 3rd party languages and can squeeze the last drop of OS performance. Your language with automatic garbage collection cannot do that. If all you end up doing is wrapping stuff with C or C++ headers then better use C or C++ at first place.