[Qt-interest] The C++ language committee

[Eirik Ulvik]

> To paraphrase, "I don't want to use an unfamiliar language unless its
> constructs and concepts match what I already know." If you already have a
> hammer, do you get more benefit from another hammer ("oh, look, this one has
> a metal handle!") or a drill? It's worth knowing lots of languages because
> each language gets you to stretch your thinking in an unfamiliar way. The
> more different the languages, the better. And the more tools you know, the
> better you can be at picking the right one for the job at hand.

First of all I agree that one should use the tool for the job however
that choice is not always yours to make.
Secondly, a language should alway strive to get more people using it.
There are obviously several ways of achieveing this, but a good place to
start is making the threshold of getting started low. To use your
comparison: you should really not have to know how to forge iron in
order to use a hammer. Doing things in ways that are either standard or
are perceived as standard helps lowering this threshold.

> C++'s OO features are mediocre. They're tolerable, but even Java has a
> better object model. 

This is where Qt comes in....

The power and value unique to C++ is in the templating
> language, and boost does a great job of offering that power in digestible
> chunks. It behooves developers new to C++ to actually learn the language,
> not just grasp the bits and pieces they understand from other languages
> they know and start spewing code. C++ is an immensely complicated language,
> and if you aren't getting an advantage out of that complexity (e.g. using
> boost/STL/etc. templates and even writing your own templates) then you are
> using the wrong language. 

 There are also many other reasons for using c++ besides templates, eg.
compute intensive software.

> I program professionally, but I'm also a hobbyist. I've been paid to
> program in at least 10 languages (C, C++, ObjC, Java, VB.NET, C#, PL/SQL,
> Ruby, JavaScript, even some assembly), but I know perhaps 20 more. That
> gives me an edge at my job, and proficiency in my hobby. Strive for more
> than just comfort and familiarity.
> 
Knowing many different languages is obviously an advantage, I don't
understand how making each language as different and difficult to learn
as possible helps in this manner.

Regards,
Eirik

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