retard wrote:
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:47:46 -0800, Bill Baxter wrote:
It seems to me that MS expects C++ to go the way of FORTRAN and
COBAL. Still there, still used, but by an increasingly small number of
people for a small (but important!) subset of things. Note how MS still
hasn't produced a C99 compiler. They just don't see it as relevant to
enough people to be financially worthwhile.
Even the open source community is using more and more dynamic languages
such as Python on the desktop and Web 2.0 (mostly javascript, flash,
silverlight, php, python) is a strongly growing platform. I expect most
of the every day apps to move to the cloud during the next 10 years.
Unfortunately c++ and d missed the train here. People don't care about
performance anymore. Even application development has moved from library
writing to high level descriptions of end user apps that make use of high
quality foss/commercial off-the-shelf components. Cloud computing, real-
time interactive communication, and fancy visual look are the key
features these days.
This is a valid comment, but if I were to speculate I'd say this is more
of a blip than a consistent trend. We're running into a multi-layered
wall of processor frequency issues, thermal issues, and power issues,
that force us to reconsider splurging computing power.
Today that reality is very visible already from certain spots. I've
recently switched fields from machine learning/nlp research to
web/industry. Although the fields are apparently very different, they
have a lot in common, along with the simple adage that obsession with
performance is a survival skill that (according to all trend
extrapolations I could gather) is projected to become more, not less,
important.
Andrei
