C++ was originally an extension to the simple-but-concise C language intended to provide abstract data type extensions. That is - data with specialised operator definitions.
This website is still under development but looks to be a place of gathering for like-mindend IT professionals who would like to see a path beyond C++. It will hopefully be an advocacy site where people can get advice for making their day-to-day work more pleasant. In the meanwhile if you'd like you can visit my separate blog and leave comments if you feel strongly about this.
It maintained its C roots to the point of being able process most C source files unmodified. Backward compatibility of this nature causes one to carry design bagage.
| Keeping C++ | Organisational Risks and Issues |
Strategies to lower the pain |
| Moving on... | Alternatives | Moving Forward: Project and technical planning |
The standard now has a large set of language features supported by different compilers to varying degrees:
Each of these key features cause their own issues. A lot of these were invented at different times by different people and are violently inconsistent. One of the reasons compiler vendors vary in their level of support is the complexity of processing the language as source code. Just validating source for correctness is extremely complex. The amount by which compilers have varied - in terms of support - has been so extreme at times writing source code to be portable across compilers can be a more challenging task than making it portable for different computing platforms!
Is C++ the very best we can have for such a large section of the IT industry?