OOP, faster data layouts, compilers

[Kai Meyer]

On 04/22/2011 11:05 AM, Daniel Gibson wrote:
> Am 22.04.2011 18:48, schrieb Kai Meyer:
>>
>> I don't think C# is the next C++; it's impossible for C# to be what
>> C/C++ is. There is a purpose and a place for Interpreted languages like
>> C# and Java, just like there is for C/C++. What language do you think
>> the interpreters for Java and C# are written in? (Hint: It's not Java or
>> C#.) I also don't think that the core of Unity (or any decent game
>> engine) is written in an interpreted language either, which basically
>> means the guts are likely written in either C or C++. The point being
>> made is that Systems Programming Languages like C/C++ and D are picked
>> for their execution speed, and Interpreted Languages are picked for
>> their ease of programming (or development speed). Since D is picked for
>> execution speed, we should seriously consider every opportunity to
>> improve in that arena. The OP wasn't just for the game developers, but
>> for game framework developers as well.
>
> IMHO D won't be successful for games as long as it only supports
> Windows, Linux and OSX on PC (-like) hardware.
> We'd need support for modern game consoles (XBOX360, PS3, maybe Wii) and
> for mobile devices (Android, iOS, maybe Win7 phones and other stuff).
> This means good PPC (maybe the PS3's Cell CPU would need special support
> even though it's understands PPC code? I don't know.) and ARM support
> and support for the operating systems and SDKs used on those platforms.
>
> Of course execution speed is very important as well, but D in it's
> current state is not *that* bad in this regard. Sure, the GC is a bit
> slow, but in high performance games you shouldn't use it (or even
> malloc/free) all the time, anyway, see
> http://www.digitalmars.com/d/2.0/memory.html#realtime
>
> Another point: I find Minecraft pretty impressive. It really changed my
> view upon Games developed in Java.
>
> Cheers,
> - Daniel

Hah, Minecraft. Have you tried loading up a high resolution texture pack 
yet? There's a reason why it looks like 8-bit graphics. It's not Java 
that makes Minecraft awesome, imo :)