Why is D unpopular?

[Patrick Schluter]

On Friday, 6 May 2022 at 05:58:37 UTC, Siarhei Siamashka wrote:
> On Thursday, 5 May 2022 at 23:06:26 UTC, Walter Bright wrote:
>> It was D that changed that perception. Suddenly, native 
>> languages started implementing CTFE.
>
> Is CTFE really that useful? Generating code as a part of the 
> build process has been in use since a very long time ago. Any 
> programming languages (perl, python, php, ...) or tools (bison, 
> flex, re2c, ...) could be used for this. Yes, the build process 
> becomes a bit more complicated, because you suddenly have more 
> build dependencies and more complicated build scripts or 
> makefiles. Still it's not a rocket science. Everything is 
> pretty easy to use and understand.

That's the point. It reduces build complexity in a disruptive way.

>
> CTFE allows to to cut some corners and move this complexity 
> into a compiler. The upside is that we don't need advanced 
> build scripts. But the downside is potentially slower 
> compilation (especially with the interpreting approach), which 
> is also too obscure and hard to notice and fix.

You have to include your build tool invocation and development 
time

> Additionally, can CTFE be used to sniff some passwords from my 
> system and embed them into a compiled binary? Now we got some 
> security concerns on top of that.

We are now deep in "whataboutism-fallacy" territory here, aka as 
clutching at straws to win he last word in a debate. The same 
security issue (I would even say, worse) with external build 
tools generating code.

>
> As for the other languages implementing CTFE, my understanding 
> is that compiler people just generally have to do something to 
> keep the ball rolling and have themselves entertained and 
> employed ;-) The features themselves may be useful or they may 
> be just gimmicks. Only time will tell.
>
> At the end of the day, D language happens to be unpopular. CTFE 
> doesn't look like a panacea.

No-one ever said it was (this is another rhetorical fallacy 
called strawman).