4 ms·

Is that one feature worth every limitation of C/C++ versus the competition? Maybe in a few narrow problem domains, but not for the average dev, IMO.

fpgeek 14y ago
I'd say in even fewer problem domains than you might think at first glance... once you've kicked out all the domains where you can cleanly compartmentalize your low level interactions.
astrodust 14y ago
C is the Latin of computer programming. You can compile it anywhere and interface it with anything, no matter how low-level. C++ is more esoteric, significantly harder to learn, and not as portable, but it's still better than most and runs wickedly fast if implemented according to best practices. This is not for "average devs", not in a world where there are dozens of first-class languages better suited to general problem solving, but some domains it is still imperative to go either C, C++ or some combination. Do average devs write kernels? Device drivers? 3D game engines? Fluid dynamics simulations? Image transformation algorithms? Network routing stacks? No, but people do, and it's a good thing they have C or C++ to solve their problems.
- pmiller2 14y ago
  >C is the Latin of computer programming. [...] >C++ is more esoteric, significantly harder to learn, and not as portable.... Does that make C++ the Sanskrit of computer programming, then? :) On a more serious note, I just found myself upvoting every single post that acknowledged the difference between C and C++. Why? Because they're very different (you can't even say C++ is a superset of C anymore), and using C++ competently requires knowing the differences. It always makes me think these posts that compare the writer's favorite language to this mythical "C/C++" language are written by people who don't know either C or C++ very well. Edit for clarity: I note that the actual title of the post is "Is C++ worth it?" so the author doesn't seem to be making this mistake, except in one instance where he refers to "C/C++ programmers". In that case, he might actually be referring to "C programmers or C++ programmers," so I can forgive him the abuse of language.
  - weaksauce 14y ago
    For what it's worth, the original title was changed to "Is C++ worth it?" after the fact.

fpgeek 14y ago

I'd say in even fewer problem domains than you might think at first glance... once you've kicked out all the domains where you can cleanly compartmentalize your low level interactions.

astrodust 14y ago

C is the Latin of computer programming. You can compile it anywhere and interface it with anything, no matter how low-level. C++ is more esoteric, significantly harder to learn, and not as portable, but it's still better than most and runs wickedly fast if implemented according to best practices. This is not for "average devs", not in a world where there are dozens of first-class languages better suited to general problem solving, but some domains it is still imperative to go either C, C++ or some combination. Do average devs write kernels? Device drivers? 3D game engines? Fluid dynamics simulations? Image transformation algorithms? Network routing stacks? No, but people do, and it's a good thing they have C or C++ to solve their problems.

pmiller2 14y ago
>C is the Latin of computer programming. [...] >C++ is more esoteric, significantly harder to learn, and not as portable.... Does that make C++ the Sanskrit of computer programming, then? :) On a more serious note, I just found myself upvoting every single post that acknowledged the difference between C and C++. Why? Because they're very different (you can't even say C++ is a superset of C anymore), and using C++ competently requires knowing the differences. It always makes me think these posts that compare the writer's favorite language to this mythical "C/C++" language are written by people who don't know either C or C++ very well. Edit for clarity: I note that the actual title of the post is "Is C++ worth it?" so the author doesn't seem to be making this mistake, except in one instance where he refers to "C/C++ programmers". In that case, he might actually be referring to "C programmers or C++ programmers," so I can forgive him the abuse of language.
- weaksauce 14y ago
  For what it's worth, the original title was changed to "Is C++ worth it?" after the fact.