Why I Like D

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad]

On Thursday, 13 January 2022 at 21:32:15 UTC, Paul Backus wrote:
> As you correctly observe, D is a great language for programmers 
> who want autonomy--far better than something like Java, Go, or 
> Rust, which impose relatively strict top-down visions of how 
> code ought to be written.

I keep seeing people in forum threads claiming that Rust is not a 
system level language, but a high level language (that poses as 
system level).

With the exception of exceptions (pun?) C++ pretty much is an 
add-on language. You can enable stuff you need. The default is 
rather limited. I personally always enable g++-extensions. And 
having to deal with exceptions when using the system library is a 
point of contention. It should have been an add-on for C++ to 
fulfil the system level vision.

C is very much bare bone, but you have different compilers that 
"adds on" things you might need for particular niches. Which of 
course is also why the bit widths are platform dependent. By 
being bare bone C is to a large extent extended by add ons in 
terms of macros and assembly routines for specific platforms.

This modular add-on aspect is essential for system level 
programming as the contexts are very different (hardware, OS, 
usage, correctness requirements etc).

In hardcore system level programming the eco system actually 
isn't all that critical. Platform support is important. Cross 
platform is important. One singular domain specific framework 
might be important. But you will to a large extent end up writing 
your own libraries.