[Dev-C++] RE: c or c++. that is the question

[jp <rar...@xt...>]

C is an assembler macro language

C++ is C with classes (inheritance, protected members and a vtable), =
templates (structured preprocessing), exceptions and stricter type =
checking.  C++ features generally map to underlying concepts available =
in C, such as exceptions mapping to setjmp/longjmp plus some =
book-keeping of the stack. Early C++ actually compiled to C (CFront).

C++ is not a first class OO language, and as such can't claim the =
benefits of, say LISP or Python. I won't mention the J word, because it =
is afflicted with brittle base class syndrome, and intrusive library =
syndrome... And I won't mention VB either...

Being so close to assembler, C is (comparatively) easy to retarget, and =
it is (comparatively) easy for a programmer to understand the impact his =
code is having 'on the metal'. Thus C, but probably not C++, can be used =
to program the uC in your washing machine.

C and C++ are systems programming languages, and it seems to me they are =
overkill for 99% of the tasks they are applied to. I direct the person =
who doubts this to the Mozilla project, which uses XML for much of the =
detail, and to the Python VTK bindings, which make scientific =
visualization an efficient and interactive pastime.

This said, I use C++ most of the time. I often wrap C libraries and =
other APIs with classes, and I like the way C/C++ enables integration of =
third party code and binaries without the overburden of something like =
ActiveX or custom bindings. I write a lot of tools and subsystems, and I =
think C and C++ are good for this. Also, I'm blundering thru a machine =
vision project at the moment, and although there are various tools that =
do some of what I need (Lush, VXL), I'm preferring to go minimalist, and =
use C/C++, including source for functions as I need them.

One of my favourite languages is PostScript. I doubt there are many =
implementations of it that aren't written in C/C++.=20

Like any trade, half the battle is knowing the tool for the job...