Vision document for H1 2018

[rumbu]

On Thursday, 15 March 2018 at 17:17:47 UTC, Dukc wrote:
> On Sunday, 11 March 2018 at 07:59:53 UTC, rumbu wrote:
>> My opinion is that the day when C# will compile to native (on 
>> any platform), the C# developer interest in D will drop 
>> instantly.
>
> I do write a commerical project in C#. But I have an opposite 
> feeling: The day D will easily compile to Javascript and be 
> able to fully interface with it, my wish to use C# will drop 
> pretty much instantly. I'm not even sure I would choose C# over 
> -BetterC D!
>
> It can already compile to Javascript using LDC/Emscripten, 
> which is impressive, but you cannot interface with its strings 
> and classes without glue code, except perhaps with some 
> trickery. I have already tried doing some but so far for no 
> avail.
>
> And that's not to say that C# would be a bad language. I didn't 
> hesistate to pick it over writing Javascript directly, and I 
> don't think Java or Python would be superior for my tastes 
> either. But it still isn't even a close match against D.
>
> First, C# feels like it's hiding details from me, it kind of 
> wants to maintain an ivory tower illusion. It's very hard, if 
> possible at all, to control memory management. Libraries often 
> feel like they're dependant on IDE (Visual Studio), not just 
> the language.
>
> Second, iterating in C# feels last-century standard. I like 
> LINQ, but it still is like Phobos with only forward ranges, 
> strange names and no thought put on avoiding needless heap 
> allocations. And it's foreach loop can't iterate by ref, which 
> means I often tend to iterate as if I was using C.
>
> Third, expressive power suffers alot from lack of powerful 
> templates, Voldemort types and var keyword being much more 
> constrained in use than auto.

My quote is out of context. Somebody asked surprised why C# 
developers are interested in D. For me (mainly a C# developer), 
this is the main reason: native compilation (and this includes 
memory management). I highlighted the fact that the C# team keep 
implementing D specific ideas in each new version, so don't be 
surprised if your list of D exclusive features becomes smaller 
with each new C# iteration. My complaint was the fact that D 
drops features or push them into library solutions.