Why is D unpopular

[Mike Parker]

On Sunday, 12 June 2022 at 14:05:00 UTC, Max Samukha wrote:
> On Sunday, 12 June 2022 at 11:47:53 UTC, Mike Parker wrote:

>
> Hi, Mike! Congratulations on being the first unsurprised D 
> user! (You were actually surprised for a moment, weren't you?)

No. Nor was I surprised, for example, when I learned that in 
Python all members are public, or that `protected` in C# is more 
restrictive than `protected` in Java.

Every language has a similar approach as other languages to some 
things, a different approach to others. I've investigated enough 
programming languages that I learned long ago to be open to the 
differences and never to expect that just because something is 
true in Language A that it will be true for a similar feature in 
Language B.

I often have reactions of "neat" or "cool", or "too bad" or "that 
sucks", but I can't say I'm ever really surprised when learning 
about features the first time. You have to learn to think in the 
language you're using if you want to be productive with it, and 
that means accepting the differences. You may find some things 
grate on your nerves because they don't square with your view of 
the world, in which case you either push to change them, accept 
them, or, if it's too much to handle, move on to a language that 
better fits your mental model. The latter is why I never stuck 
with C++.

When I first learned about D's private-to-the-module approach, it 
made perfect sense to me. It fits right in with D's concept of 
modules.

I have been surprised occasionally, though, when I was certain a 
feature worked a certain way, but I learned later my 
understanding was wrong. There were a couple of those instances 
when I was writing Learning D, but I can't for the life of me 
remember what they were.