OSNews article about C++09 degenerates into C++ vs. D discussion

Bill Baxter dnewsgroup at billbaxter.com
Sun Nov 19 16:14:52 PST 2006


Mike Capp wrote:
> Georg Wrede wrote:
> 
>> Having such a library would make a huge difference
>> in every C++ vs D discussion! The opposition would
>> have a lot less ammunition against us.
> 
> Huh? When did this become an adversarial thing? If you're trying to convince
> someone that D is a better fit for their needs, labelling them "the opposition"
> probably isn't going to help.
> 
> Bear in mind that a lot of C++ programmers lived through the whole Java hypefest
> and tend to start twitching when told that GC will magically solve all their
> problems and they don't need to worry about it. There's a reason why Java's
> "simple" memory model sprouted PhantomReferences and SoftReferences and
> WeakReferences a few years down the line: resource lifetime management is a
> tricksy area with a lot of dark corners, and one size does not fit all. If D is
> successful it'll sprout similar accommodations in time, though hopefully cleaner
> ones. Until then, accept that D might not be the right answer for everyone just
> yet, and the discussion will be less combative and more constructive.
> 
> cheers
> Mike


Indeed.  The people who really need to be GC-free are a tiny minority. 
Wasting a lot of manpower creating a non-GC library just people who 
don't want to convert from C++ will have one less justification for not 
using D sees like a huge waste of effort to me.

--bb



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