Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

previous by date index next by date
  topic list  

Subject: OT: C++ bashing (was RE: [motm] A very BAD day)

From: Dan Higdon <hdan@...>
Date: 2000-05-15

OT: C++ bashing (was RE: [motm] A very BAD day)

Sigh, I hate having to defend C++, seeing as how I hate it, but....

Blaming C++ for code bloat is like blaming gasoline for drunk driving.

It is easy to create C++ code that is smaller and faster than C code
for many applications, and equal to C for the others.  Blame instead
lazy programmers who can't take the time to optimize (or even think
about) their code.  Trust me, if we didn't have C++, you would all be
complaining about those damn Modula-3 programmers, or whatever other
language was popular.

The "good old days" really weren't as good as you remember them.  Software
was more "solid" because it didn't do very much.  I personally would
prefer more small, focused, solid applications, but nobody would buy
them, since they don't have as long a "bullet list" on the box.

I do agree that "code bloat" (or creeping featuritis) is a serious problem
with today's systems, but that's a whole different argument that I think
we'd agree on most points of.

As for the "x=5" verses "ptr->x = 5" example, well, that's like saying
all those patch cables aren't worth the trouble, and nobody would ever
need more than one oscillator anyway. :-)

hdan


-----Original Message-----
From: elhardt@... [mailto:elhardt@...]
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 2:21 AM
To: motm@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [motm] A very BAD day


synth1@... writes:

>>IN 27 YEARS seen a bigger pile of s∗∗t in my life as the horror these C++
loving, JAVA-writing, RAM-sucking,
I-need-300MB-on-your-drive<<

I just logged on and saw this.  You have captured my feelings exactly. 
Lately I have been thinking that if computers keep going in the direction
they are now, in 5 years they will be totally unusable.  I have seen early
small, fast, tight and clean applications turn into mega RAM hogging, bug
ridden, litter your hard drive with 5000 files, slow as molasses C++ pieces
of crap.  And those applications run on top of operating systems that are
programmed the same way.  It's a disaster.  I used to get so pissed off at my
Macs that I almost threw one out a 2nd story window.  Then I had to get more
into PCs.  The problems increased 10 fold.  Now I would like to see a Timothy
McVeigh like bombing of Microsoft.  And yes, I would like to see lives lost.

>>Anyone remember NightRanger pinball for the Apple? 1,872 BYTES!!! THE WHOLE
)<<

Apple ][.  Simple to use, didn't bomb out, bug free programs, booted up many
times faster than todays computers, basic ROM bios/monitor/disassembler was
only 2K, extended Applesoft basic only 10K,  entire disk operating system
only 14K.

Things can be done the easy way:
variable=5;

Or the hard way:
#include  CustomNonStandardVariableTypes.h
iUgly_vAriable_tooLong=(unsigned long)(∗∗pVariable_Unreadable->
&hData_Hard_To_Retrieve: Array[index].Element_Somewhere);

-Elhardt

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get paid for the stuff you know!
Get answers for the stuff you don't. And get $10 to spend on the site!
http://click.egroups.com/1/2200/5/_/529958/_/958116083/
------------------------------------------------------------------------