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> how is D different I don't know Zig yet. I had an opinion long time ago that nobody should use C anymore; I would suggest C++ at least because it has constr
by acehreli 4y ago
> how is D different
I don't know Zig yet.
I had an opinion long time ago that nobody should use C anymore; I would suggest C++ at least because it has constructors and templates. D's [Better C](https://dlang.org/spec/betterc.html https://dlang.org/spec/betterc.html) would be my go-to at this time.
C++ is getting better but it's still very difficult to get right: It depends mainly on programmer attention e.g. to follow 400+ [guidelines](https://isocpp.github.io/CppCoreGuidelines/CppCoreGuidelines https://isocpp.github.io/CppCoreGuidelines/CppCoreGuidelines).
Rust is "different" but it has the borrow checker as a safety tool. D's [live functions](https://dlang.org/spec/ob.html https://dlang.org/spec/ob.html) and other [memory safety](https://dlang.org/blog/2022/10/08/dip1000-memory-safety-in-a-modern-systems-programming-language-part-2/ https://dlang.org/blog/2022/10/08/dip1000-memory-safety-in-a...) features are closing the gap there.
> major selling point
I am copying slide 59 here: D provides competitive advantage by helping happy programmers produce correct programs pragmatically.
Slide 8 lists what D does not have, which can explain why D has not gained popularity that it deserves. For example, nobody can sell D as "Google's language" or "Apple's language".
- synergy20 4y agomakes sense, thanks!
- no_wizard 4y agoIs there a way to enable safe "D" by default, rather than using the `@safe` (what looks to be) modifier?
- acehreli 4y agoNo. We had a very long discussion about safe-by-default on the forums but failed to reach a consensus. As I understand it, for safe-by-default to work, either all C libraries would have @trusted D bindings written, or all of them would have to be assumed to be @trusted. Most of the community wanted explicit @trusted annotations, Walter and others favored assuming them to be @trusted (or was it assumed @safe?) was the way to go. So, no safe-by-default at this time. :/
- gavinray 4y agoD-lang attributes can be used like a label, so for example you can put at the top of your file: @safe nogc: auto myFunc() { // do stuff } struct Blah {} Whatever attributes you use apply to all code in the lexical scope below the colon. It's useful for structs/classes struct MyThing { auto unsafeFunc() {} @safe: auto safeFunc1() {} }
- nicwilson 4y agoKind of, mark `main` `@safe`. The transitivity of safety will ensure that you can only call safe functions, else you will get a compile error.