The solution is to stop using C already (unless you really, really have to). Use C for great glory. Both of you are taking an extreme position. C isn't very

The solution is to stop using C already (unless you really, really have to). Use C for great glory. Both of you are taking an extreme position. C isn't very difficult. However, there are a lot of nuances that you have to remember while using it. Mostly this is a matter of experience. It eventually becomes something akin to muscle memory to match every malloc() with a free(), and to always have an acute awareness of buffer sizes. When speed is critical, using C can often be a decisive advantage. Nothing else can match the raw horsepower that an effective C programmer can bring to bear on a problem. This implies that if you don't know C, then you're handicapping yourself as a developer. Consider that most of the really excellent programmers are also excellent C programmers: cperciva, guido, antirez, tlb, rtm, zed, etc. Either all of the excellent programmers are also delusional for using C, or you're missing something important by not knowing how to be effective with C. On the flip side, C doesn't make sense for most use cases. For example, writing a distributed system in C when you could use Go, or writing Dropbox in C when you could use Python. Most people underestimate just how fast modern CPUs are, along with underestimating how much speed you can get from effectively profiling your app written in a high-level language like Lisp. Good profiling is more valuable than changing to a lower-level language, and it's also easier in the long run. The key is balance, and a wide perspective.