[article] Language Design Deal Breakers

[Paulo Pinto]

Am 26.05.2013 08:12, schrieb Walter Bright:
> On 5/25/2013 10:58 PM, deadalnix wrote:
>> Most ICE in DMD are cause by assert fail on null pointers.
>
> Even if that were true (and it isn't), it doesn't follow that having
> non-nullable pointers would have magically prevented them.
>
> Practically none of them were "oops, I forgot to initialize the
> pointer", which you'll see if you examine the corresponding pull
> requests to fix them.
>
> The symptom and the cause are two entirely different things. You cannot
> fix jaundice with makeup.

Languages that forbid nullable pointers always require you to handle 
them. The compiler won't compile code that won't check for null before use.

Null pointers are a big problem in any language that makes heavy use of 
the heap.

In many modern languages most developers don't check for null 
pointers/references in the parameters and that is most of the time the 
number one cause for crashes.

--
Paulo