Future of D 2.x as stable/bug fix, and what's next for D 3.x

[Laeeth Isharc]

On Wednesday, 2 September 2020 at 01:49:23 UTC, Eljay wrote:
> On Tuesday, 1 September 2020 at 15:23:10 UTC, IGotD- wrote:
>> I didn't quite understand that sentence. What is the problem 
>> with the current design that prevents D from gaining momentum?
>
> D does have momentum.
>
> Some obstacles as I see them are:
>   * no corporate/government/academic sponsor backing the 
> language
>   * garbage collection
>
> How one courts a sponsor, I do not know.

I think its a mistake to think that a single corporate sponsor is 
the answer.

Companies have their own distinct interests and values and those 
arent going to be identical with those of the language ecosystem 
and community.  Especially for a publicLy-listed company yet 
those tend to be the ones that have the resources to be a 
significant sponsor.

whats the use case for D?  well, look at how its uses by 
organizations that use D today.  it has incredible breadth and 
there is no single industry that pops out.  its about the kind of 
people more I think.

Having a single sponsor is quite dangerous too.  what will happen 
to Rust given the funding problems Mozilla has after their 
chronic mismanagement?  maybe it will be fine but at least the 
link with Mozilla is a source of brittleness.

government funding these days has most uncertain benefits in an 
environment of budgetary constraints and rising geopolitical 
tension.

I think more funding would be better but would be best for D if 
it comes from more than one source.  and I think this will 
naturally happen in time.