Comparison chart worries

[John Reimer]

On Sun, 14 Jan 2007 03:58:33 +0200, Georg Wrede wrote:

> Quoting from 
> http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=431909
> 
>> I'm sorry, but some of your "comparisons" to C# are just WRONG. Period, flat out, wrong. No dynamic arrays? Try System.Collections.Generic.List<T>. No associative arrays? Try System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary<T>. No aliases? Try using <class> = Alias;. There are many more on that page, so much so, I am half tempted to write a page debunking over half your comparisons.
>> 
>> Your comparison sheet is EXTREMELY misleading, as you completely ignore the .NET framework, which extends C# far beyond anything D can currently do. Ignoring the presence of many of these facilities in the .NET framework is a really shady tactic to make D seem like it has several important features that C# supposedly lacks. Several other features you claim are "important" are really not (like multiple inheritance, which is dangerous to begin with).
>> 
>> D is a neat language, but you need to be more honest in your comparisons.
> 
> Not directly commenting on this quote (since I'm not that familiar with 
> C#), I think we should check if the comparison really is up to date.
> 
> Other languages may have got new versions out, and some of the table 
> entries are, ehh, not that obvious to the casual reader.
> 
> While some of the more surprising answers (the yes/no stuff) are 
> explained in footnotes or on other pages, we must understand that all 
> this slashdotting etc. brings readers who don't bother reading "the fine 
> print". They may then dismiss the table (and thus D itself) as biased, 
> hyped, and regular marketing lies altogether.
> 
> I don't think we can afford it.


The table seems to be more annoying to outsiders than informative.  People
seem to have there own interpretation for each item in the list and feel
swindled when the language comparison suggests features (or lack of such)
so starkly. Probably the best thing to do is merely state what D offers
with more detailed links to examples; this allows the newcomers decide for
themselves.  

That list awakes far too much fury in the programming community: they
appear to see this as a list of half-truths... something usually seen
in politics and marketing strategies.... not a good thing for D (or
anywhere for that matter).

-JJR