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[Manu]

On 28 November 2012 03:30, Mike Parker <aldacron at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tuesday, 27 November 2012 at 21:23:12 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
>
>> On 11/28/2012 5:25 AM, Max Samukha wrote:
>>
>>> Please stop repeating that "will break lots of code" mantra. D user base
>>> is very small and it doesn't grow *because* issues like the one
>>> discussed do not get fixed. When they are fixed people may start using
>>> the language. And *then* you would have to worry about backward
>>> compatibility. Look at the recent Manu's complaints and see what people
>>> who would really use the language have wanted from it for years.
>>>
>>
>> I understand what you're saying, but the counterpoint is we lost half the
>> D community when D2 broke D1 code. We still have at least one major D1 user
>> that still finds it impractical to upgrade to D2.
>>
>
> That was more than a breaking change. That was a massive paradigm shift.
> All the drama going on back then was rooted more in philosophical
> differences and the Phobos/Tango divide, than changes to the language.
> What's being discussed here is breakage on a much smaller scale.
>
> I've always said that it's the little things in aggregate that make D such
> a wonderful language to work with. But the flipside of that is the little
> annoyances in aggregate can make it frustrating to work with. New users
> coming to a language often have little patience. IMO, their encountering
> these little annoyances before the good stuff takes hold is a far more
> pressing issue than a few minor breaking changes.
>

Very important point! I'm far more patient and persistent than others in my
company...

I've no idea what sort of commercial interests are using D in production,
> but I'd still confidently make the bet that a few breaking changes now (for
> issues that people find frustrating) would do more good than harm in the
> long run. Especially if they are introduced gradually and with time to
> understand their ramifications.
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