[FreezerburnV]

“There are only two kinds of languages: the ones people complain about and the ones nobody uses.” - Bjarne Stroustrup

Not disagreeing that C++ is awful in a lot of ways and super difficult though. But I still weirdly like it, personally. I find it a fun challenge/puzzle to work with.

[diffxx]

I truly loathe that quote. It is a tautology that is used to deflect legitimate criticism.

[CRConrad]

Yup. What's next? Lennart Poettering going "There are two kinds of init systems..."?

[RogerL]

And it is not true (for any reasonable reading of the quote). There are very popular languages that don't get the deserved hate that C++ does. Sure, Python is slow, packaging/versioning is painful, but it is nothing like C++ complaints.

I mean, a standard (and stupid IMO) interview question is rate your C++ expertise from 1-10, and if you answer more than about 5-6 you get bounced for lying or not recognizing your limitations, while they gleefully point out Stroustrup wouldn't answer 9-10.

[umanwizard]

I think we can say Rust is beyond the “nobody uses” stage by now, and it’s much simpler and easier than C++. (And people who use it tend to like it, proving Bjarne wrong).

[saurik]

I'm sorry; you think people don't complain about Rust? There are tons of articles posted here from people complaining about Rust in various ways. Bjarne wasn't saying whether most people like it... that's orthogonal: I actually like C++, yet I have been complaining about it--at times quite bitterly--since before it was even standardized!

[fiddlerwoaroof]

Or, because there’s so many languages around now, they just use something else. I really don’t like working with Rust myself and so I use other languages.

[dgfitz]

Rust is neither simple nor easy. Full stop.

[alex_lav]

Saying people complain about something is not the same as saying nobody likes it…

[catlifeonmars]

I feel that if the language is a challenge to work with, it better give you your money’s worth. In 2024, there are plenty of other languages with better ROI, if you want a challenge.

In any case, I think the primary goal of any programming language is to get out of your way and let you tackle more interesting problems related to the problem domain that led you to start writing a program in the first place.

[zarathustreal]

I find it annoying to have to solve a puzzle to make progress solving my intended puzzle (i.e. whatever I’m computing)

[nottorp]

> a fun challenge/puzzle to work with

You're basically saying the language gets in the way of solving your problem :)