C++ to catch up?

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Monday, November 05, 2012 11:00:27 jdrewsen wrote:
> It seems like the C++ committee is speeding up development adding
> lots of the goodies from D like Ranges, static if, template
> contraints etc.
> 
> Will D still have a case when C++ gets this done?
> 
> I wonder if Andrei is part of the C++ Ranges Study Group?
> 
> The Future of C++:
> http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2012/2-005

The closer that C++ gets to D, the less interested that many people will be in 
adopting it, particularly because of the large user base and the large amount 
of code out there that already uses C++. Programmers have to be convinced to 
move to D, and for many C++ programmers, the improvements to C++11 are enough 
to make a move to D not worth it, even if D is a better language.

But C++ will never have all that D does. There are too many things that it 
would have to fundamentally change (e.g. how arrays work) which it can't 
change, because it would break backwards compatibility. Many of C++'s flaws 
stem from retaining backwards compatibility with C, and they're not going to 
break that now either. So, while they can do a lot to improve C++, there's a 
definite limit to it. D will ultimately have similar problems, since we'll have 
to maintain backwards compatibility for the same reasons that every other 
mainstream language does, but it's definitely ahead of C++ in that regard, 
because it was able to learn from C++'s mistakes. And if we ever create a D3, 
and we're willing to actually break compatibility with that version change 
(which C++ will never do in any real way with any version change), then we can 
avoid C++'s fate in that regard to at least some extent, but then you get into 
a situation like python 2 and python 3 or perl 5 and perl 6.

In any case, it's pretty much a given that improving C++ will mean that fewer 
people will move away from it to other languages, but it's also a given that 
there are fundamental problems with C++ that can't be fixed, and in that 
regard, D will always come out ahead of it.

- Jonathan M Davis