• Edward Diener (31/31) Jan 28 2008 I am a D newbie but a very experienced C++ programmer, probably like
• Walter Bright (3/4) Jan 28 2008 Thank you, but the effort is only partially mine. There are lots of

Edward Diener <eddielee_no_spam_here tropicsoft.com> writes:

I am a D newbie but a very experienced C++ programmer, probably like
many C++ programmers who come to D even mildly interested in what has
been created. I have a number of specific comments to make about D based
on a first cursory reading of the D 1.0 documentation I have read from
the downloaded PDF. The comments will be made in the spirit not of
antagonism but rather of technical criticism and/or questions. The
comments I will separate into different posts and they will cover a few
things from the topics in the documentation to which I had strong
reactions. I still have not read the section of the documentation
dealing with templates in D so no present comments will touch upon that
area.

Before making my specific comments I would first like to thank Walter
Bright for the immense effort he has made to create a successor to a
language which is well respected among probably more knowledgable
computer programmers in the world than any other. It is a Quixotian
task, like tipping at windmills, knowing that a million or so C++
programmers worldwide will probably not be dropping C++ any time soon
for D even if D is a "better" language in many ways.

Like many experienced C++ programmers I have immense respect for the C++
language and its designers and it standard C++ committee members as
technical people. However, perhaps like those on this NG and others
investigating or using D, I see C++ encumbered greatly from moving
forward by its baggage from the past, by its stated necessity to
maintain compatibility with C and many lines of legacy code going back
many years. So I appreciate the effort of D to be a language that no
longer considers compatibility with past code a necessity as C++ appears
to do. This is a just a way of saying, whether I use D further or not,
that it is good to see someone saying that a computer language, besides
its richness and flexibility, should be a practical language that others
can use and that can change as new ideas in programming come to the fore.

So congratulations Walter on your fine effort !

Walter Bright <newshound1 digitalmars.com> writes:

Edward Diener wrote:
 So congratulations Walter on your fine effort !

Thank you, but the effort is only partially mine. There are lots of 
others working hard on it!