Re: OT: Programming Languages

On 11/1/2024 5:05 PM, Joe Gwinn wrote:

C++ is an order of magnitude more complex than C.  Even a
casual C programmer can imagine what his code will look
like after compilation.  I.e., can imagine exactly what the
CPU will be doing (ignoring the fact that the compiler will
often out-think the coder in terms of time/space efficiency).

 I think that the complexity ratio between C and C++ well exceeds ten.

Possibly.  But, the cognitive load is roughly an order of magnitude.
If the developer can't "grok" (in the most literal sense of the word)
what's going on, what hope has he?

It took a while for compilers to handle mutual-exclusion
functions/commands correctly - in most architectures, one must block
interrupts for this to work correctly.  It's a long story, and is a
good reason to work in assembly for that.

With modern processors, there are considerably more pitfalls than that.
Most "programmers" haven't a clue as to what a "barrier" is nor when
(or why!) to use them.
And, as hardware has become more featureful, the needs for talking
to the iron UNAMBIGUOUSLY are increasing, constantly.  Open door
for obscure, intermittent bugs...