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You shouldnt need to ”keep up with a language”. A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without

by fsloth 3y ago

You shouldnt need to ”keep up with a language”. A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without modifications. Otherwise the language is a toy.

angiosperm 3y ago
You can write better code with the current language than you could with previous versions. So, keep up if you want to write better code. Stick with the old stuff if you don't. To me it is an easy choice. Every new Standard has some features few people will use. Those are easy to identify and ignore if they don't solve a problem you have.
- nuancebydefault 3y ago
  That is true, though in the real world (existing codebases) you encounter old, new, modern and novel styles of C++. So in order to understand the used forms of something that should be simple, like printing, you will need to know at least 4 different ways of coding it. That is somehow the frustrating part of the language, there is no 'right' C++. Kudos for those who are willing to dig deep enough to fully understand const correctness, smart pointers, dynamic casts, double referencing, every type of formatting and template programming. Though sometimes I think there is some masochism involved...
  - angiosperm 3y ago
    C++ is a relentlessly practical language, so your go-to for understanding what you find is practicality.
wiseowise 3y ago
> A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without modifications Isn’t this the epitome of C++, though? It literally is the LTS language
steveklabnik 3y ago
> You shouldnt need to ”keep up with a language”. I never said you had to. The question that was asked is "how hard is it to" not "should I." > A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without modifications. Otherwise the language is a toy. I don't personally feel that this is a useful distinction because it means the vast majority of language implementations are a "toy." Heck, C++ might be one of the few non-dead languages where this is true! You can add new things while staying backwards compatible. "I want to keep up with the language" and "I want ten year old code to work" isn't inherently at odds.
xboxnolifes 3y ago
I'm pretty sure C++ is the most opposite you can get from being a toy language.

by fsloth 3y ago

angiosperm 3y ago

You can write better code with the current language than you could with previous versions. So, keep up if you want to write better code. Stick with the old stuff if you don't. To me it is an easy choice. Every new Standard has some features few people will use. Those are easy to identify and ignore if they don't solve a problem you have.

nuancebydefault 3y ago
That is true, though in the real world (existing codebases) you encounter old, new, modern and novel styles of C++. So in order to understand the used forms of something that should be simple, like printing, you will need to know at least 4 different ways of coding it. That is somehow the frustrating part of the language, there is no 'right' C++. Kudos for those who are willing to dig deep enough to fully understand const correctness, smart pointers, dynamic casts, double referencing, every type of formatting and template programming. Though sometimes I think there is some masochism involved...
- angiosperm 3y ago
  C++ is a relentlessly practical language, so your go-to for understanding what you find is practicality.

wiseowise 3y ago

> A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without modifications Isn’t this the epitome of C++, though? It literally is the LTS language

steveklabnik 3y ago

> You shouldnt need to ”keep up with a language”. I never said you had to. The question that was asked is "how hard is it to" not "should I." > A professional computer language should always have a ”LTS” mode where you can compile a decade old code without modifications. Otherwise the language is a toy. I don't personally feel that this is a useful distinction because it means the vast majority of language implementations are a "toy." Heck, C++ might be one of the few non-dead languages where this is true! You can add new things while staying backwards compatible. "I want to keep up with the language" and "I want ten year old code to work" isn't inherently at odds.

xboxnolifes 3y ago

I'm pretty sure C++ is the most opposite you can get from being a toy language.