5 ms·

C compatibility was the very reason for which C++ is bigger, more complicated and less safe than a similar language not compatible with C could be.

• wbl 8y ago
  Really? C++ accidentally has a Turing complete templating layer. I suppose one could point to Common Lisp but if you think that is simple....
  • wues 8y ago
    I never said that this language would be simple. Just simpler than C++ we know.
  • TeMPOraL 8y ago
    Well, Common Lisp is simple. Except maybe the Metaobject Protocol (which ultimately didn't make it into standard, but it sort of still is). And except eval-when. Eval-when is magic.
• Const-me 8y ago
  Objective C and D both have excellent C compatibility. C# has very good one. I think all 3 languages are easier to use.
  • wues 8y ago
    They all may have excellent C compatibility, but this is not the point. The point is that without C compatibility C++ could be smaller and simpler, and yet still meeting the same goals and covering the same use cases. Objective C has Smalltalkish object system glued to C base. Fundamental C++ techniques like RAII not possible there. D has GC. C# runs in a VM. I would not call a language with any of those features very similar to C++. OTOH if not for C compatibility we would not have this discussion, since we would most likely never heard of C++.