11–20 of 69 posts
I don't like C++ as a language AT ALL, but the fact is, for cross-platform native app development, it's the only game in town unless you want to write C. Do you want your app (or some part of your app) to run on Windows/OSX/iOS/Android/Linux? Then you're writing it in C++. It sucks, in many ways, but it's what we have.
I don't use C/C++ for the same reason I don't use assembly. There are superior languages out there that do a better job with everything important for building complicated software that is robust, easy to use, easy to maintain, fast and scalable. C++ is on its way out, it is still relevant and will be relevant for decades though. As is Cobol.
I do think we'll see languages that espouse some of the same guiding principles of C++, namely: multiple paradigms, only paying for what you use, native compilation options, and compile-time metaprogramming.
As it stands now, it has a huge marketing problem that's been perpetuated by a meme of "omg complexity!!!!!111," (aside: it's goofy how fashion-oriented developers are) so C++ in its current form could never rise up.
I don't like C++ as a language AT ALL, but the fact is, for cross-platform native app development, it's the only game in town unless you want to write C. Do you want your app (or some part of your app) to run on Windows/OSX/iOS/Android/Linux? Then you're writing it in C++. It sucks, in many ways, but it's what we have.
Actually there is no reason not to use Objective C, since gcc can compile that too.
I don't like C++ as a language AT ALL, but the fact is, for cross-platform native app development, it's the only game in town unless you want to write C. Do you want your app (or some part of your app) to run on Windows/OSX/iOS/Android/Linux? Then you're writing it in C++. It sucks, in many ways, but it's what we have.
Actually there is no reason not to use Objective C, since gcc can compile that too.
Every other complaint I have against the language just stems from my familiarity with C++ and love of static typing (or compiler hints and syntactic niceties useful for writing high performance code - namely games).
1. cross platform
2. the programmer can choose from several levels of abstractions, as appropriate for a particular project: low-level c-style coding, OOP, templates, meta-programming.
3. even the very high level abstraction usually doesn't induce performance penalty.
4. not using some property of the language doesn't induce performance penalty ("you pay only for what you use" principle).
5. New ISO C++11 standard makes the language even stronger
6. Many design decisions can be expressed by using templates or multiple inheritance, and enforced during compilation.
From internet discussions, I noticed that quite a few people under-appreciate the points 2) and 3), or don't have good understanding about why abstractions are an important part of software design (especially in larger projects).
Also, even in 2011, in a lot of projects the performance achievable only by native code is still very desirable or even required.
There are tons of people who think they know C++. There are a smaller subset that do.
If you get people who A> Refuse to follow the subset of the language your group is using on the project or B> deeply misunderstand one or two features, you're in total utter hell if you can't fire the person.
Most places don't have an easy enough ability to fire people to do C++ in my opinion, therefore C++ is not suitable for them.
But at the same time, developers will prefer working in higher-level (more productive) languages whenever possible.
So, IMHO, C++ is a language of the future, not the language of the future.