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From: ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: C++ Not Ready for Commercial Use
Message-ID: <10029@alice.UUCP>
Date: 17 Oct 89 17:29:58 GMT
References: <24.UUL1.3#913@acw.UUCP> <6590301@hplsla.HP.COM>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner NJ
Lines: 41

In article <6590301@hplsla.HP.COM>, jima@hplsla.HP.COM (Jim Adcock) writes:

> Can anyone give any examples of someone who has been programming in C++ for
> more than a couple of months who would willing program in any other language,
> let alone any other dialect of C?

Sure.  I've programmed in C++ for several years now, and although
most of my programming is indeed in C++, I still write shell scripts
and programs in other languages, particularly Awk.  I've written
some programs in ML and would like to find the time to write more.

I've written a lot of code in APL and still use it from time to time.
I have my own little programming language called Snocone that's
implemented by a Ratfor-ish preprocessor that translates into
Snobol4.  It's a good bit more powerful than Awk and is much
better at string pattern matching than anything else I've seen,
including C++ (until someone writes an appropriate class library).
It only runs on machines that support Snobol4, though, which is why
I use Awk instead of Snocone when I care about portability.

I have only a passing acquaintance with Smalltalk, but what I've
seen of it makes me sorry I have neither ready access to a machine
that supports it nor time to explore it thoroughly.

I've written considerable programs in Fortran, PL/I, Pascal, and
several assembly languages, although not recently.  I've also done
a little programming in Lisp.

I would use any of these languages again under the right circumstances.

A programming language is a tool.  No tool can be the best possible
for every purpose.  I can only imagine that there will continue to
be good solid reasons for using any of a dozen or so languages in the
appropriate context.

C++ is an excellent language for a wide range of applications, but it's
not perfect.  If it were, those of us working on it would have to find
something else to do.
-- 
				--Andrew Koenig
				  ark@europa.att.com