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From: bs@alice.UUCP (Bjarne Stroustrup)
Newsgroups: comp.object
Subject: Re: code blocks (aka closures)
Summary: careful with analogies
Message-ID: <11013@alice.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jul 90 21:23:34 GMT
References: <12396@june.cs.washington.edu> <1112@carol.fwi.uva.nl> <5319@stpstn.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ
Lines: 24



Software is not hardware. Further, there is little reason to believe
that software is analogous to hardware in any strong and useful sense;
had it been, we probably wouldn't have had a `software crisis.' Looking
to hardware for solutions to software problems (except by using better
hardware) is likely to be highly misleading and causes much confusion.

I will happily agree that C++ isn't going to `solve the software crisis;'
and hurry to add that neither is any other language/environment.

The problems with software are fundamental. They are primarily caused by
increasing ambition on the part of individuals and organizations: As long
as we are seeing rapid progress many of us will be working at the hairy
edge of our abilities and of the capabilities of our tools. I hope and
expect that this trend will continue. Our tools are quite adequate for
solving yesterday's problems - meaning that we have made significant
progress - but those are not the problems we are facing today or want
to face tomorrow.

The software crisis has been with us for at least 25 years and will probably
be with us for at least another 25. Whether C++ or Objective C or something
else provides and/or will provide the greatest amount of relief from our
current problems and leverage for our new projects is for the users to decide.