Why I Use D

[Simen Kjaeraas]

Good to see a thread like this on the NG. Too much of the negative stuff -  
but
it's needed.

What do I like about D?

* Transitive const. I actually thought that const in other languages was
   transitive before Walter told us all it's not. (I never tested it, it  
just
   never occured to me that anyone would do something as illogical as
   non-transitive const :P)
* Array operations, slices, strings, as well as all the other stuff that  
has to
   do with this.
* Garbage collecting. Ok, so there are certain strings attached to using  
it,
   but you can turn it off.
* Code generation. Mixins, CTFE, templates - and so simple and logical.
* Easy linking to C. It's a must, and we know it.
* Compiles to native code.
* Multi-level language. It's assembler, C, Java and more.
* Inline assembler. Makes it easier for me to learn assembler, and having  
just
   one way to do it ensures that the next compiler I bump into will also  
compile
   my code. (at least such is the theory...)
* C++ without all the mucus, shamanic rituals, and eldritch incantations.


What do I not like about D?

* Enum. While I understand some people use keyword count as an indication  
of
   language worth, I heartily disagree. And enum is to me a list of elements
   related to each other, with no defined value except the name (unless you
   choose to assign them values, of course).
* Template/CTFE/Mixin error messages. Well, they're ok on their own, but  
I'd
   like to be able to tell the user 'this and that is wrong with your  
template
   instantion/CTFE function in file foo at line bar'.
* Old bugs. When something doesn't work, and the answer you get when you  
ask is
   "It's in bugzilla, been there since Adam and Eve walked the earth", it  
doesn't
   quite make me smile and dance and sing.


All in all, D is the language I want. It's not perfect (yet :P), but it's  
close
to what I want for most things.

Now, I think the only thing that remains is to say thank you. To Walter,
especially. But also to Andrei and the others who help, to the Tango team  
and
others who create important libraries for D, and to everyone on the  
newsgroup.
D wouldn't be what it is without you.

-- Simen