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> Why would you want to use an 'inferior' language if you know a better one? I really hate this idea because it implies that one language is completely inferio

> Why would you want to use an 'inferior' language if you know a better one? I really hate this idea because it implies that one language is completely inferior to another in every way. For example, I have heard: "Why use C when you can use C++?" The two languages often serve different purposes. There are few languages that give you as much control over performance and memory management as C. C is lightweight enough to go onto basic 8-bit microcontrollers with 64kb of memory. That is not to say that C is the ultimate language or anything, but that different languages have different strengths/weaknesses. Another simple example would be C# which is great if you have no need to deploy to anything other than windows. In conclusion the answer to your question is that someone had a particular need which was best suited to one language and thus are more comfortable in it which is why they want to use it for their next project.

Perseids 13y ago
"Inferior" is probably really bad wording. Let's say "more advanced". If you know C++ you will have no problem accommodating with C if it better fits your need. If you know Scala you can still program in Java if your stuck with it for whatever reason.
- chacham15 13y ago
  > If you know C++ you will have no problem accommodating with C if it better fits your need. While I understand what you mean, the two are completely different. The lack of OOP in C means that you have to have a different set of programming methodologies to accomplish what you would have done with classes. So, while knowing C++ helps, it isnt the same as if your 'main' language were C. Furthermore, one of C's strengths is it predictability. The way that is accomplished in C is different than C++.
- Figs 13y ago
  I write both C and C++ on a regular basis. The set of idioms used in C is radically different from what you'd find in C++ (even though a lot of C code is valid C++). When I first started working on C projects written professionally (after quite a bit of experience with C++), I was seriously thrown off by things like reinterpreting structs to treat the first element as a parent structure (essentially emulating inheritance in pure C code).
plinkplonk 13y ago
"I really hate this idea because it implies that one language is completely inferior to another in every way." Since I never said or implied that (you did notice the quote marks ?) you must have plucked this idea out of thin air and then went on a rant ;-)

Perseids 13y ago

"Inferior" is probably really bad wording. Let's say "more advanced". If you know C++ you will have no problem accommodating with C if it better fits your need. If you know Scala you can still program in Java if your stuck with it for whatever reason.

chacham15 13y ago
> If you know C++ you will have no problem accommodating with C if it better fits your need. While I understand what you mean, the two are completely different. The lack of OOP in C means that you have to have a different set of programming methodologies to accomplish what you would have done with classes. So, while knowing C++ helps, it isnt the same as if your 'main' language were C. Furthermore, one of C's strengths is it predictability. The way that is accomplished in C is different than C++.
Figs 13y ago
I write both C and C++ on a regular basis. The set of idioms used in C is radically different from what you'd find in C++ (even though a lot of C code is valid C++). When I first started working on C projects written professionally (after quite a bit of experience with C++), I was seriously thrown off by things like reinterpreting structs to treat the first element as a parent structure (essentially emulating inheritance in pure C code).

plinkplonk 13y ago

"I really hate this idea because it implies that one language is completely inferior to another in every way." Since I never said or implied that (you did notice the quote marks ?) you must have plucked this idea out of thin air and then went on a rant ;-)