Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:38:33 -0500, Andrei Alexandrescu thusly wrote: > I'll note two things. For one, Walter is a heck more progressive than > his pedigree might lead one to think. He has taken quite some risks with > a number of features that made definite steps outside the mainstream, > and I feel he bet on the right horse more often than not. Second, this > particular discussion is not about efficiency.
I apologize that I said it in a way that might hurt Walter. I know he is extremely talented programmer and also open for new ideas. That is often not the problem. But it is not that hard to find features in D that are there only to make old C++ users feel comfortable. E.g. C style pointer syntax is harmful for the syntax of new features like tuples. It is also really confusing, but somehow has to be there since D "must" feel like C+ +, otherwise someone would notice that D is actually a modern multi- paradigm language that allows even functional programming, which is a bit bad for the reputation in conservative c++ circles. Some people would not even touch the language with a 10 foot pole, if someone dared to provide a practical garbage collector library for it. Because that would mean that there are people with wrong opinions (tm) in the community. I know there is a old and stubborn language war between academic foofoo and "practical aspects".
