Calling C++ expats.

John Griffin
Aug 8, 2017 · 2 min read

I used C++ heavily for years, but finally came to the conclusion a few years back that it just too difficult to be an appropriate choice for most business projects.

Why I left C++

  • Compilation was lethargic
  • Template errors were illegible
  • Compilers didn’t implement much of current standards
  • Heap pointer ownership was murky (new/delete)
  • Calculating type signatures was wordy and error-prone.

So, I left C++. I’m not alone.

Expats — Please Come Visit C++14

In case you were nodding your head about the problems and you haven’t looked seriously at C++ in say 5 years, give C++14 a look. C++14 is not an update; it’s genuinely a new programming language. You’ll find that both clang and g++ support important day-to-day C++14 features.

  • std::shared<T>,std::unique_ptr<T>My last project of 25K lines has only two new/delete pairs. The rest relies on the standard shared pointer.
  • The auto keyword for declaring types. Just let the compiler do the work. It’s easier to write, easier to read, and correct.
  • The C++11 range-based for loop. It’s comically more simple than C-style for indexing loops or using begin()/end() loops.
  • Lambda expressions.

No detail is here, because it’s everywhere else. However, if you happen to be an ex-practitioner of C++, please trust a guy in the same situation that it is worth your time to visit.

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