4 ms·

Unfortunately there are still many problem domains where you absolutely require the low-level control of memory and execution time that C and C++ provide. In mo

Unfortunately there are still many problem domains where you absolutely require the low-level control of memory and execution time that C and C++ provide. In most of those domains the extra expressiveness of C++ is a big win, despite its many warts. Could you, with hindsight, design a better low-level language than C++ for these tasks? Yes. Is such a language available today? No. People write things like Photoshop and Cubase and Maya in C++ for a reason.

loup-vaillant 15y ago
http://www.bitc-lang.org/ http://www.bitc-lang.org/ Not there yet, but I'd say there's hope.
Symmetry 15y ago
Isn't D exactly what you're looking for here? That is, roughly equivalent to C++ but with a coherent design? I head Go also lets you manage memory manually if you want to.
- greyfade 15y ago
  D somewhat lacks stability. The language is still maturing and there was, for a long time, a major split in which standard library was... standard (and even now, that question isn't really clear). There's also the issue of tools - there are only two D compilers I know of, and neither of them is that great (and GDC is buggy, IME). It's also got several warts of its own. When D matures a little more, maybe. At least C++ has a stable standard lib. That's why I'm holding off on using it, and (with the exception of the standard lib) probably why most people are holding back.
evangineer 15y ago
I think the contenders here are Google's Go, Mozilla's Rust and for an academic longshot BitC. Thus far, Go is the most mature & has the most traction, but is still very much in its early days and a minority sport. Outside of Google, the most ambitious use of Go in production is Heroku's Doozer. There are those who would say D should be in my list above. However the D community seems to be fatally divided and D has failed to get sufficient traction despite being around for quite a few years.

loup-vaillant 15y ago

http://www.bitc-lang.org/ http://www.bitc-lang.org/ Not there yet, but I'd say there's hope.

Symmetry 15y ago

Isn't D exactly what you're looking for here? That is, roughly equivalent to C++ but with a coherent design? I head Go also lets you manage memory manually if you want to.

greyfade 15y ago
D somewhat lacks stability. The language is still maturing and there was, for a long time, a major split in which standard library was... standard (and even now, that question isn't really clear). There's also the issue of tools - there are only two D compilers I know of, and neither of them is that great (and GDC is buggy, IME). It's also got several warts of its own. When D matures a little more, maybe. At least C++ has a stable standard lib. That's why I'm holding off on using it, and (with the exception of the standard lib) probably why most people are holding back.

evangineer 15y ago

I think the contenders here are Google's Go, Mozilla's Rust and for an academic longshot BitC. Thus far, Go is the most mature & has the most traction, but is still very much in its early days and a minority sport. Outside of Google, the most ambitious use of Go in production is Heroku's Doozer. There are those who would say D should be in my list above. However the D community seems to be fatally divided and D has failed to get sufficient traction despite being around for quite a few years.