What languages did influence D notably

[Abdulhaq]

On Saturday, 3 September 2022 at 16:19:26 UTC, tsbockman wrote:
> On Saturday, 3 September 2022 at 03:32:35 UTC, Jack wrote:
>> ALgo, Java, Python, Ruby, C# and Effiel. What are some other 
>> languages?
>
> The top influences are of course C++ and C. Walter Bright 
> intended D1 as an improvement over C++, whose quirks and faults 
> he became very familiar with while working on his commercial 
> C++ compiler.
>
> C is also explicitly a major influence, given that much of D's 
> basic semantics and syntax were chosen with the goal that C 
> code should be easily translatable into D by non-experts, with 
> the obvious translation either having compatible semantics, or 
> failing at compile time. D's ABI compatiblity through 
> `extern(C)`, use of the C runtime library, and `-betterC` mode 
> are further evidence that C is the dominant influence, along 
> side C++.

I see it differently. There are more knowledgeable people here 
for sure but my understanding is that Walter, having written a 
C++ compiler (and BTW at some point a Java compiler) saw how C++ 
could be both simplified and also made more powerful (better 
templating etc.). Now, C++ supported C as part of the C++ 
philosophy, presumably to help ease adoption of C++, 
interoperating with the kernel (libc etc), and to leverage all 
those pre-existing C libraries. Walter also stuck with the idea 
to try to maintain compatibility with C, for much the same 
reasons. Hence I say that D was primarily influenced by C++, and 
only indirectly by C. Putting it into other words, if C++ had not 
supported C, then D would also not have done so.

-betterC came relatively recently as a quick and easy win to get 
converts from the C community (amongst other reasons). It doesn't 
necessarily indicate that D was directly influenced by C or its 
philosophy.

When I read TDPL I did gain a sense that Python had also somewhat 
influenced the design, but maybe that was my imagination. I'm 
thinking of imports and the 'turtles all the way down' philosophy.