Ok, the first thing I’d like to accept is that C++ is just not safe enough for most applications. And yes—you also can’t throw C++ in the garbage.
Both of those statement are part of our reality—C++ is unsafe, and we will use it anyway. That’s why we solve this problem on two fronts. First, we advise programmers to ditch C++ for safer languages, when reasonable, because C++ isn’t safe enough for most needs. Second, we invest a lot of energy into making C++ safer, with better tools, safer libraries, changes to compilers, static analysis, run-time instrumentation, etc. It won’t close the gap—C++ is still unsafe and will be for the foreseeable future—but it will make a big difference to the people who, for whatever reasons, still use C++ despite its safety problems.
The C++ FAQ has a better picture here:
https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/big-picture
> In 99% of the cases, programming language selection is dominated by business considerations, not by technical considerations. Things that really end up mattering are things like availability of a programming environment for the development machine, availability of runtime environment(s) for the deployment machine(s), licensing/legal issues of the runtime and/or development environments, availability of trained developers, availability of consulting services, and corporate culture/politics. These business considerations generally play a much greater role than compile time performance, runtime performance, static vs. dynamic typing, static vs. dynamic binding, etc.
There are a lot of good reasons to use C++. C++ is also unsafe. Both are true.
We don’t need to write long apologia explaining why C++ is actually safe, and you shouldn’t be looking at legacy code, or you need to hire better programmers, or you’re using the wrong tools or wrong practices or something like that. Ultimately, those arguments don’t withstand scrutiny.