Linus Torvalds - C++ is a horrible language
thread.gmane.org
thread.gmane.org
If you follow the mailing list, they're only using the minimal amount of C++ required for QT, otherwise everything is in C. So in 2013, Linus still doesn't like C++.
Python & QT could be an option, but the whitespace is annoying (I shudder to think what Linus thinks of it) and in general, I prefer using Go over Python, but the creators have said they will not put any resources into developing official UI bindings, so any efforts are purely third-party.
People are so good at rationalizing their preferences that they sometimes say really stupid stuff withour realizing it. This nightmare scenario of relying on boost, std::vector, or whatever - it's really basic stuff that's both open source and easy to understand/debug - e.g. https://github.com/graehl/boost/tree/object_pool-constant-ti... (reminds me - I should really get around to submitting this)
That said, avoiding libraries (especially avoiding templates and just using void*-like stuff) does keep binaries/libs smaller, but I'll gladly make the computer work slightly harder considering that the result is the same speed (C++ is often faster than C, in practice).
The downside I care about is compilation speed. Simple C projects compile/link faster than modern C++ ones, even though the code for the same functionality is far more brittle, unsafe, and opaque
This should not be an issue with modern C++ compilers. If two template instantiations generate the same or similar code, they will be merged and useless code is removed by dead code elimination.
> The downside I care about is compilation speed. Simple C projects compile/link faster than modern C++ ones, even though the code for the same functionality is far more brittle, unsafe, and opaque
At the same time, a lot of potential for optimization is lost by barricading everything between translation units and/or behind opaque pointers. While yes, LTO is supposed to help there, all those memory accesses make it infinitely harder for the compiler to prove trivial properties about the data flow. See also this recent presentation by someone who has a lot more experience than me with writing compiler backends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR34r7HOU14
FWIW, MSVC does this, maybe Intel's as well, but other toolchains do not.
http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Beowulf/c++_interview/c++_inter...
"Stroustrup: Hmm. I've always wondered about that. Originally, I thought I had. Then, one day I was discussing this with a guy who'd written C++ from the beginning. He said he could never remember whether his variables were referenced or dereferenced, so he always used pointers. He said the little asterisk always reminded him."
Maybe that puts me in esteemed company.
(probably not though.)