I have read comp.lang.c++(.moderated) for years, and I have never seen a language where the most experienced programmers have to read up the standard to answer

I have read comp.lang.c++(.moderated) for years, and I have never seen a language where the most experienced programmers have to read up the standard to answer a question. Many points raised in the FQA are valid (although written in an inflammatory manner), the main point being that C++ is full of corner cases, traps, and historical artifacts. IMO C++ is a language that we just have to live with. It's ugly, but there's lots of legacy software written in C++, and the only viable option if you need to optimize a lot while still keeping proper typing.