Microsoft working on new systems language

[Adam Wilson]

On Sat, 28 Dec 2013 03:13:53 -0800, Barry L. <barry.lapthorn at gmail.com>  
wrote:

> Hello everyone, first post...
>
> Just saw this:   
> http://joeduffyblog.com/2013/12/27/csharp-for-systems-programming/
>
> D (and Rust) get a mention with this quote:  "There are other candidates  
> early in their lives, too, most notably Rust and D. But hey, my team  
> works at Microsoft, where there is ample C# talent and community just an  
> arm’s length away."
>

I want to make a point here that many people come to do looking for  
something that is as performant as C++ with the ease of C# or Java, and  
for the most part (using LDC/GDC) you get exactly that. This language  
could convince me to go back to C#. Particularly if it's cross-platform.  
C# is a solid language that is used by a lot of people. And it is  
supported by a large corporate entity with mountains of money and a vested  
interest in making it successful. They can kill bugs and make improvements  
at a phenomenal pace (look at the job they did with C# 1.0->2.0).

This needs to be a wake up call for the D community. For a long time D has  
occupied the Programmer Efficient and Safe Native Compiled Language niche  
more or less unchallenged in any serious way (with a nod to Rust). If  
Microsoft actually goes through with this (and they will since the .NET  
runtime is murderous on mobile device battery performance) the argument  
for D will get much harder to make. Yes we can argue the ideology of one  
technical bullet point versus another, but that misses the point. The vast  
majority of programmers pick their languages based not on ideological  
purity, but on ability to get stuff done quickly. Obviously this is more  
than just the language, it's also the availability of tutorials and  
examples. But there isn't much we can do about that at this point. And  
there is a LOT of things that C# can do that D cannot. Cross-library  
namespace composability is big on my personal list. Or proper shared  
libraries. Or, etc.

I know that I wanted out of the Microsoft world for performance and  
cross-platform reasons. However with this project, especially the interest  
in cross-platforming it that they seem to be showing, they will have a  
much easier time getting me back. After all I came from to D from C#, it  
wouldn't be hard to go back.

So while we're celebrating that D mentioned in an article that made the  
front-page of reddit (by virtue of it's author being well-respected and  
the importance of his employer) let us also reflect on what this news most  
likely means for D. Microsoft can invalidate us almost overnight with  
mountains money and the size of their community. Yes we got an honorable  
mention, that also means we're on the radars of people who matter...

-- 
Adam Wilson
IRC: LightBender
Project Coordinator
The Horizon Project
http://www.thehorizonproject.org/