3 ms·

Yep. The only difference between struct and class in C++ is that class defaults to private while struct defaults to public. 100% of the using structs like they

Yep. The only difference between struct and class in C++ is that class defaults to private while struct defaults to public. 100% of the using structs like they are C structs vs using class as objects is cultural not a part of the language.

SAHChandler 2y ago
The public vs. private aspect also affects inheritance. structs publicly inherit from base types by default, classes privately inherit from base types.
gary_0 2y ago
Any similarly of keyword naming between C and C++ is purely coincidental. :P C++ is somewhat unique in that it started out as a few extra features on top of C before gradually splitting off and mutating into a totally separate programming language.
- pjmlp 2y ago
  "Unique" in a world where Objective-C, Objective-C++, Groovy, and TypeScript exist.
  - gary_0 2y ago
    What I meant wasn't that it was a language that was compatible with an earlier language. Groovy just compiles to the JVM; lots of things do. TypeScript is just JavaScript with type safety; Python did that too. Objective-C was just NeXT attempting to make the ugliest-looking programming language possible and they succeeded immediately. But Cfront was released circa 1983 and you basically just wrote C, but it added a bit of new syntax that generated extra C behind the scenes. Object-oriented programming was still fetal in 1983! It didn't get really hyped until the mid-90's. So C++ kind of mutated for decades as this gross appendage on C until it became this whole separate blob that ate half of programming. It was 15 years later when the C++98 "standard" started trying to reign in Dr. Stroustrup's monster. Then in 2005 we threw away all our textbooks that were like "Look! `Apple` derives from `Fruit`! `Car` derives from `Engine`! This is going to change the world!" because adding object-orientedness to everything became uncool when our bosses became fans of Java. But by this point the C++ blob had taken on a life of its own... So yeah. Very few programming languages have a story as long and insane as C++.
    - pjmlp 2y ago
      Objective-C was originally a macro processor just like CFront on top of C. Objective-C++ likewise on top of CFront. Until like with CFront, they became selfhosted compilers. Groovy code is Java code, regardless of targeting the JVM, the same syntax is supported and extended with dynamic capabilities. Object Pascal was created for Lisa project, exactly in 1983. Tom Love and Brad Cox created Objective-C in 1984.
kazinator 2y ago
Support for POD (plain old datatype) structs in C++ is definitely part of the language.
chipdart 2y ago
> 100% of the using structs like they are C structs vs using class as objects is cultural not a part of the language. I think this take is completely wrong. There is nothing cultural about it. C++ was created as a strict superset of C, and thus from the inception it supported all features made available in C. This design goal remains true up to this day, and only started to diverge relatively recently when C was updated to include features that were not supported (yet) by C++. When someone declares a plain old struct in C++, they are declaring a struct that is perfectly compatible and interoperable with C. This is by design. From the inception.
- mianos 2y ago
  What if, after 20 years of C++, you spend 10 years doing python, only to go back to C++ and realise that all this private/protected stuff is a crock and most of the time you are doing real work you just use struct and start typing your C++, virtual functions, constructors, destructors etc? Just asking, for a friend.
  - josefx 2y ago
    > you spend 10 years doing python, only to go back to C++ and realise that all this private/protected stuff is a crock Just a friendly reminder that two leading underscores wont protect your member functions in C++. Even if people insist that those are totally not supposed to be private in python.
    - schmidt_fifty 2y ago
      [dead]
    - nhatbui 2y ago
      I think OP meant discarding public/private constructs entirely, no protection, like in python.
      - gpderetta 2y ago
        Except python started mangling double underscore in a futile attempt to implement private members/methods.

SAHChandler 2y ago

The public vs. private aspect also affects inheritance. structs publicly inherit from base types by default, classes privately inherit from base types.

gary_0 2y ago

Any similarly of keyword naming between C and C++ is purely coincidental. :P C++ is somewhat unique in that it started out as a few extra features on top of C before gradually splitting off and mutating into a totally separate programming language.

pjmlp 2y ago
"Unique" in a world where Objective-C, Objective-C++, Groovy, and TypeScript exist.
- gary_0 2y ago
  What I meant wasn't that it was a language that was compatible with an earlier language. Groovy just compiles to the JVM; lots of things do. TypeScript is just JavaScript with type safety; Python did that too. Objective-C was just NeXT attempting to make the ugliest-looking programming language possible and they succeeded immediately. But Cfront was released circa 1983 and you basically just wrote C, but it added a bit of new syntax that generated extra C behind the scenes. Object-oriented programming was still fetal in 1983! It didn't get really hyped until the mid-90's. So C++ kind of mutated for decades as this gross appendage on C until it became this whole separate blob that ate half of programming. It was 15 years later when the C++98 "standard" started trying to reign in Dr. Stroustrup's monster. Then in 2005 we threw away all our textbooks that were like "Look! `Apple` derives from `Fruit`! `Car` derives from `Engine`! This is going to change the world!" because adding object-orientedness to everything became uncool when our bosses became fans of Java. But by this point the C++ blob had taken on a life of its own... So yeah. Very few programming languages have a story as long and insane as C++.
  - pjmlp 2y ago
    Objective-C was originally a macro processor just like CFront on top of C. Objective-C++ likewise on top of CFront. Until like with CFront, they became selfhosted compilers. Groovy code is Java code, regardless of targeting the JVM, the same syntax is supported and extended with dynamic capabilities. Object Pascal was created for Lisa project, exactly in 1983. Tom Love and Brad Cox created Objective-C in 1984.

kazinator 2y ago

Support for POD (plain old datatype) structs in C++ is definitely part of the language.

chipdart 2y ago

> 100% of the using structs like they are C structs vs using class as objects is cultural not a part of the language. I think this take is completely wrong. There is nothing cultural about it. C++ was created as a strict superset of C, and thus from the inception it supported all features made available in C. This design goal remains true up to this day, and only started to diverge relatively recently when C was updated to include features that were not supported (yet) by C++. When someone declares a plain old struct in C++, they are declaring a struct that is perfectly compatible and interoperable with C. This is by design. From the inception.

mianos 2y ago
What if, after 20 years of C++, you spend 10 years doing python, only to go back to C++ and realise that all this private/protected stuff is a crock and most of the time you are doing real work you just use struct and start typing your C++, virtual functions, constructors, destructors etc? Just asking, for a friend.
- josefx 2y ago
  > you spend 10 years doing python, only to go back to C++ and realise that all this private/protected stuff is a crock Just a friendly reminder that two leading underscores wont protect your member functions in C++. Even if people insist that those are totally not supposed to be private in python.
  - schmidt_fifty 2y ago
    [dead]
  - nhatbui 2y ago
    I think OP meant discarding public/private constructs entirely, no protection, like in python.
    - gpderetta 2y ago
      Except python started mangling double underscore in a futile attempt to implement private members/methods.