Differences between version 12 and predecessor to the previous major change of C++.
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| Newer page: | version 12 | Last edited on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 5:22:30 am | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
| Older page: | version 1 | Last edited on Sunday, August 4, 2002 4:57:47 pm | by PerryLorier | Revert |
@@ -1 +1,65 @@
-Stroustrop decided that
C was
a neat idea
, but needed more syntatic
sugar.
C++ has all the power and flexibility
of C, with all new disadvantages
.
+A ProgrammingLanguage developed by BjarneStroustrup as the successor to [
C], keeping all of its power and flexibility, adding all new disadvantages.
+
+!!! Advantages
+
+* More typesafe so the compiler picks up more errors.
+* Generic and typesafe programming via [Template]s.
+* [NameSpace]s help avoid symbol name collisions between independent pieces of code.
+* ObjectOrientedProgramming via 'virtual' functions and (multiple) inheritance.
+* [STL], the Standard Template Library.
+* iostreams as
a replacement for printf(3).
+
+!!! Complaints
+
+!! String class
+
+What's the point of a string class if it's not fully compatible __char *__ and is therefor useless for many IO operations? Eg you need a character buffer and can't pass a string object to
+
+* __istream::getline(char *
, size_t)__
+* __read(char*, size_t)__
+* __get(char*, size_t)__
+* ... the list goes on.
+
+!! Variable interpolation
+
+Interpolating variables into strings is absolutely hideous and easier done by reverting back to [C]. Compare:
+
+ // C way
+ char buffer[[16];
+ snprintf(buffer,15,"output-%n.txt", counter);
+
+ // vs
+
+ // C++
+ strstream ss;
+ string s;
+ ss << "output-" << counter << ".txt" ;
+ ss >> s;
+
+!! GarbageCollection (not)
+
+Since BjarneStroustrup liked [Simula67 | http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_simula.html]
but decided GarbageCollection was "too slow", he designed his own perfect ObjectOriented language without it. Quite a few people will readily assume he must have been on crack. Besides having to manage memory yourself, you now have to cope with new syntactic
sugar that can conceal which part of your code is responsible for what bits on your heap
. Great fun - really!
+
+!! [Template]s
+
+Your compiler will segfault regularly instead of producing error reports when you stuff up a [Template] definition. When it does produce an error report, it looks like the (drastically snipped down) one below (in this case it's from the [STL]).
+
+ /usr/include/stlport/stl/_hashtable.h: In method `size_t _STL::hashtable<_STL::pair<const CActionHandler::Keycode,void
+ __<snip>__
+ /usr/include/stlport/stl/_hashtable.c:347: instantiated from `_STL::hashtable<_STL::pair<const CActionHandler::Keycode,void
+ (CActionHandler::*)()>,CActionHandler::Keycode,_STL::hash<CActionHandler::Keycode>,_STL::_Select1st<_STL::pair<const
+ CActionHandler::Keycode,void (CActionHandler::*)()> >,_STL::equal_to<CActionHandler::Keycode>,_STL::allocator<_STL::pair<const
+ CActionHandler::Keycode,void (CActionHandler::*)()> > >::resize(unsigned int)'
+ /usr/include/stlport/stl/_hashtable.c:169: instantiated from `_STL::hashtable<_STL::pair<const CActionHandler::Keycode,void
+ (CActionHandler::*)()>,CActionHandler::Keycode,_STL::hash<CActionHandler::Keycode>,_STL::_Select1st<_STL::pair<const
+ CActionHandler::Keycode,void (CActionHandler::*)()> >,_STL::equal_to<CActionHandler::Keycode>,_STL::allocator<_STL::pair<const
+ CActionHandler::Keycode,void (CActionHandler::*)()> > >::_M_insert(const _STL::pair<const CActionHandler::Keycode,void
+ (CActionHandler::*)()> &)'
+ /usr/include/stlport/stl/_hash_map.h:188: instantiated from here
+ /usr/include/stlport/stl/_hashtable.h:557: no match for call to `(const _STL::hash<CActionHandler::Keycode>) (const
+ CActionHandler::Keycode &)'
+
+This is perhaps a good reason to stay away from [
C++] and program in [INTERCAL] or [PASL]. Or maybe [Java]. Or in something like [Ocaml | http://www.ocaml.org], which
has parametized types, classes, and modules, covering most if not
all the possible uses
of [
C++] [Template]s in a saner manner
.
+
+-----
+CategoryProgrammingLanguages
