Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!mordor!sri-spam!rutgers!mtune!mtgzz!drutx!clive
From: clive@drutx.ATT.COM (Clive Steward)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: LightSpeed C, and C++
Message-ID: <6815@drutx.ATT.COM>
Date: 23 Feb 88 01:48:50 GMT
References: <6813@drutx.ATT.COM>
Organization: resident visitor
Lines: 54


After this last runthrough, may I take a moment for a comment.

I like LightSpeed C very, very well.  In addition to Mac work, I've
ported a considerable amount of truly hairy Unix code to it.  Always a 
pleasure, and wish there was _any_ environment like this for Unix.

However.

I've heard several ways that some influential person(s) at LightSpeed 
may not feel a reason to support C++.


Let me say that a very large bet indeed is likely to be missed here.


Opinion.  C++ is as big a leap over present 'structured programming'
languages as these were over 'stream-of-conciousness' code.

I'm sure most of us 'feel' the mathematical consistency that 'structured 
code' guides.  C makes this liveable.  And in use, the structure also
gives a feeling of freedom; we 'know' the units we break a problem
into, and like the way they work together.  It's fun, says the mind.

C++ goes very much farther, by offering new kinds of 'meaning units'.
Discover them for yourself.  But the 'fun' emotion, after doing some
largish projects with it, says this is really a way to go.  And the
code has essentially no performance difference from older C.

Yes, Apple is going to support it, and I am going to buy it there, I guess.
But how much better it would be to have an alternative to the long
process of coding/compiling.

And how especially better for all those trying to get up to speed.

Because, the end results of designing a set of C++ objects is very easy
to use, but the process of getting there is hard.  Needs experimentation.

Lightspeed C makes it fun to explore the Mac OS, and find out how to
do the thing you'd like.

Why not offer the same advantage to a whole new world, which happens
to mesh beautifully with the Mac itself?

This is only the beginning of reasons.  Beauty and usefulness can
define a market, I think.  And later, I think there's ample reason to
believe that C++ may well become the language of choice, perhaps even
more than C is now, for many things.

End of opinion.


Will I get my wish?

Anyway, thanks.