The dmd code generator was/is a C++ compiler backend too, and can trace it's lineage back to the first compilers to make Cfront obsolete. We could emit C code,

The dmd code generator was/is a C++ compiler backend too, and can trace it's lineage back to the first compilers to make Cfront obsolete. We could emit C code, but it's just worse when you need to get to the cutting edge. Even if you end up going through the same backend via C, you've now (say) lost devirtualization.