The C++ FQA is on GitHub | Hacker News Reader

The C++ FQA is on GitHub

yosefk.com

31 pointssmackay7 comments

Here's the problem with the FQA. It has some deep understanding of some C++ issues, but it has a completely distorted attitude.

If the FQA said, "Here are some problems with objects and inheritance. Here are some strategies for dealing with them", that would be useful. Instead, it implies (and coming very close to outright stating) "Here are some problems with objects and inheritance. Therefore C++ is completely broken because it includes objects at all." And it's not just objects. That's the FQA's attitude on every issue. It's like the author went deliberately looking for everything possible to complain about, and just wanted to complain.

It's like some guy took the time to write 50 pages detailing all the ways chefs could cut themselves with sharp knives (all of which are real), and trying to persuade chefs to stop using sharp knives. But a real chef would respond, "These knives are useful precisely because they are sharp. Now shut up and get out of my kitchen."

However, the linked article says:

> Also, and I think this too was needlessly aped from UNIX-HATERS – I keep insisting on this good-for-nothing language being literally good for nothing, and while I don't outright lie to make that point, I'm "editorializing", a.k.a being a weasel, and why do that? I mean, it's a perfectly sensible choice for many programmers to learn C++, and it's equally sensible to use it for new projects for a variety of reasons. Do I want to see the day where say Rust scrubs C++ out of the niches it currently occupies most comfortably? Sure. But being a weasel won't help us get there, and for whomever C++ is the best choice right now, persuading them that it isn't on general grounds can be a disservice. So the "good for nothing" attitude might be best scrapped as well, perhaps.

Which is a much more reasonable position.

I found reading it rather cathartic. It mirrors the vitriol that my C++ teachers had towards C, and it was a counterweight to the irrational exuberance they expressed towards C++ features like iostreams and inheritance.

I mean, I actually like C++. It's my language of choice. But around the early 2000s, the smugness was overwhelming. To me, this is the 'mogodb is webscale'[1] of yesteryear.

[1] https://youtu.be/b2F-DItXtZs

Good point. I often hear about some perfectly valid piece of C++ code that it is "C-style". Like, so what?

Reading some eloquent critique of your favorite technology can encourage healthy attitude towards it and prevent turning it into holy cow.

> If the FQA said, "Here are some problems with objects

As I recall it actually spends a load of time bitching that C++ isn't garbage collected and more like lisp, which is multiple levels of stupid.

I feel like everyone looking to understand C++ should read the both the FAQ and the FQA. But please, take them both with a pinch of salt.

Great resource for critically thinking, informed professionals. Kudos to the author.

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