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Topic: Keeping SirGod on his toes  (Read 1577 times)

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Offline toasty0

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Keeping SirGod on his toes
« on: January 14, 2005, 11:04:20 am »
How can a legacy language like C++ compete with modern, advanced languages?

Naturally, calling C++ a legacy language shows a bias (see legacy code). That aside, people are usually thinking of Java or C# when they ask such a question. I will not compare C++ to those languages, but I can point out that "modern" doesn't necessarily mean "better", and that both Java and C# are rooted in 1980s style OOP to an even greater extent than early C++ was.
Since 1987 or so, the focus of development the C++ language and its associated programming styles have been the use of templates, static polymorphism, generic programming, and multiparadigm programming. This is way beyond the scope of the much-hyped proprietary languages. Another key difference is that C++ supports user-defined types to the same extent as built-in types. This - especially in combination with the use of templates, constructors, and destructors - enables the C++ programmer to use programming and design techniques that (IMO) are more advanced than what is supported in the languages with which C++ is most often compared.

Standard C++ and the design and programming styles it supports owe a debt to the functional languages, especially to ML. Early variants of ML's type deduction mechanisms were (together with much else) part of the inspiration of templates. Some of the more effective functional programming techniques were part of the inspiration of the STL and the use of function objects in C++. On the other hand, the functional community missed the boat with object-oriented programming, and few of the languages and tools from that community benefitted from the maturing experience of large-scale industrial use.

Clearly, I don't think that garbage collection is the sole defining characteristic of "advanced" in the context of programming languages. In particular, note that C++ provides support for effective and efficient memory management techniques that can eliminate resource leaks without the use of a garbage collector. If you disagree, you can just start using a garbage collector for C++; there are good ones available.

Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ page

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Offline Sirgod

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2005, 12:24:07 pm »
I'm not Really quite sure what a Legacy language is Jerry, and for some reason, I kept timing out on the Referance page. Any chance you could define that for me so I know abit more about what is going on with this one?

Stephen
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Offline toasty0

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2005, 09:12:17 pm »
It is the FAQ by the guy who "invented" C++. I thought you might like to read it and his other thoughts as it one of the best written that is free conceptual writings on programming you'll pro'ly find. Some of it is kind of "out-there" some times, but reading does help solidify an understanding of the art of programming.

Jerry
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Offline Javora

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2005, 07:32:49 am »
Only one person invented C++, I thought two people created the language while creating Unix?
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Offline toasty0

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2005, 10:24:12 am »
Quote from: Javora on January 15, 2005, 07:32:49 am
Only one person invented C++, I thought two people created the language while creating Unix?


You're partially correct. Here is an excerpt from the History of C++...

C++ was written by  Bjarne Sroustrup  at Bell Labs during 1983-1985. C++ is an extension of C.  Prior to 1983, Bjarne Stroustrup added features to C and formed what he called "C with Classes". He had combined the Simula's use of classes and object-oriented features with the power and efficiency of C. The term C++ was first used in 1983.
 

C++ was developed significantly after its first release.1 In particular, "ARM C++" added exceptions and templates, and ISO C++ added RTTI, namespaces, and a standard library.1

C++ was designed for the UNIX system environment. With C++ programmers could improve the quality of code they produced and reusable code was easier to write.

Jerry
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Offline Sirgod

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2005, 11:10:00 am »
Thanks Jerry, It seems to load up ok this morning. I'll diffinatly be reading through this today.

stephen
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Offline Javora

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Re: Keeping SirGod on his toes
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2005, 09:10:03 pm »
Quote from: toasty0 on January 15, 2005, 10:24:12 am
Quote from: Javora on January 15, 2005, 07:32:49 am
Only one person invented C++, I thought two people created the language while creating Unix?


You're partially correct. Here is an excerpt from the History of C++...

C++ was written by  Bjarne Sroustrup  at Bell Labs during 1983-1985. C++ is an extension of C.  Prior to 1983, Bjarne Stroustrup added features to C and formed what he called "C with Classes". He had combined the Simula's use of classes and object-oriented features with the power and efficiency of C. The term C++ was first used in 1983.
 

C++ was developed significantly after its first release.1 In particular, "ARM C++" added exceptions and templates, and ISO C++ added RTTI, namespaces, and a standard library.1

C++ was designed for the UNIX system environment. With C++ programmers could improve the quality of code they produced and reusable code was easier to write.

Jerry

That's cool, thanks toasty0.
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