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Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!ncar!boulder!agcsun!marks
From: marks@agcsun.UUCP (Mark Shepherd)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.software-eng
Subject: Project experience with C++
Keywords: C++, project experience, learning, real life
Message-ID: <812@agcsun.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jul 90 22:36:06 GMT
Organization: Ampex VSD Golden Engineering, Golden, CO
Lines: 31

I would like to find out if anyone out there has real-life, long-term
experience with a substantial (tens/hundreds K lines of code) project 
written in C++. Here are some things I'd like to know:

  - how long does it take an C or Pascal programmer to learn and
    become productive in object-oriented design and programming
  - how long does it take to develop something in C++ compared to C
  - how good is the long-term extendability, reliability, maintainability
    of object-oriented designs/implementations
  - what are the pros/cons of doing a project in C++ rather than C
  - what are the pitfalls of doing something in C++
  - is C++ particularly well suited (or badly suited) to 
    - graphic user interfaces (X/Motif)
    - real time device control
 
I am already a big fan of object-oriented analysis, design, and 
implementation, and have used C++ and Smalltalk for numerous small 
(1-person) projects, but I don't yet have a feel for how well a large 
project in C++ works, or whether the theoretical benefits - reusability,
modularity, loose-coupling, data hiding, and so on - actually materialize
in practice.

I'd like to hear (either via E-mail or reply posting) about any 
experience you've had, or about any articles or papers you know about
that discuss this.

Thanks

Mark Shepherd
303-279-1300 x288 (voice)
303-279-2209      (fax) agcsun!marks@boulder.colorado.edu