Does the world really need yet
another 'C-like language'? Given the amount of interest
being shown in D, maybe it does...
I first came across a Walter Bright
compiler way back in the mid '80s. This was
at a time when even cheap C compilers cost hundreds
of pounds or dollars each (Euros hadn't even been
invented!) and there was no such thing as a C++ compiler.
If you used C++ at all
- and, back in those days, very few people did - you
were obliged to run your code through some pre-processing
software which converted C++ to bog-standard C.
And then along came the Zorland C++ compiler. If my
memory serves me right, this cost about £20 and came
tucked into a thin paperback manual. Zorland C++ was
written by Walter Bright, a man whose surname was obviously
all appropriate to his talents.
The name of the company was perhaps, slightly less appropriate.
At any rate, in order (perhaps?) to avoid the possibility
of attracting the attentions of another company whose
name began with the letter "B", Zorland soon
became Zortech. Later on, Symantec acquired Zortech and
Walter Bright went on to write the Symantec C++ and Visual
Café Java compilers.
Ah, Java - now, that was an interesting development.
This was a language with a simplified C-like syntax,
single-inheritance and built-in garbage collection. And
then along came another language called C# with (you
guessed it) a simplified C-like syntax, single-inheritance
and built-in garbage collection. Meanwhile, Walter Bright
had decided to create a new language called D with a
simplified (well, you get the picture...)
Which begs the question: with Java and C# already established,
why on earth should anyone choose yet another C-like
language? That was one of the first questions I wanted
answered when I
spoke to Walter Bright this month. For
another view on the pros and cons of D, take a look at
Dermot
Hogan's assessment of the language: C Done Right?
Other languages such as Java and C# have been pushed
to prominence by the force of major companies. D, in
common with Ruby, is the creation of a single individual.
The fact that both D and Ruby are generating so much
interest at the moment is testament to the fact that
big companies don't have the monopoly on good ideas.
We shall be watching D's progress keenly...
Huw Collingbourne
(Editor)
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