Let Go, Standard Library From Community

[David B. Held]

Sean Kelly wrote:
> [...]
> Some points of analysis worth considering are average lines of code, 
> number of parameters, cyclometric complexity, etc.  One can't infer much 
> from the simple presence of templates or a class hierarchy.  Heck, the 
> presence of templates can suggest more robust code than average, because 
> they tend to prevent code duplication and force a focus on algorithm 
> design rather than type-specific optimizations (which can be a source of 
> bugs).  Similar things could be said for classes.
> [...]

Personally, I find that libraries that *don't* use templates are 
primitive, because they probably aren't very configurable.  You're stuck 
with what the library designer chose for you.  I think in the future, 
this is just going to become more and more pronounced.  All of the most 
interesting libraries I can think of are extremely generic.  I would be 
interested to hear about counter-examples.

As far as re-inventing wheels vs. code re-use, I think it is 
instructional to look at other engineering disciplines.  Which engineers 
are praised for designing custom bolts and I-beams and steel pipes and 
wires?  The ones who get the recognition are the ones who take commodity 
items for granted, who choose the best available, and focus on the 
things that matter, which are the high-level problems.  That is, the 
best engineers are the ones that can abstract away the trivialities and 
introduce something compelling and new using off-the-shelf parts.

Given that architect-level engineers usually need a decent variety of 
parts to choose from, I think it makes perfect sense that one would have 
alternatives in libraries.  There is also the aspect of healthy 
competition and alternative tastes.  Obviously, Phobos appeals to 
C-philes like Dan, while Tango appeals to Java-philes like...well, like 
all the Java-philes out there. ;)  I think making them interchangable is 
the most worthwhile course of action.

Rewriting basic libraries is a good exercise for the learning 
programmer.  I reinvented plenty of good wheels in my day, and had a lot 
of fun doing it.  But when you get old and tired, you lose the zeal for 
wheel-making, and you start to build cars, using parts that other people 
made.

Dave