Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!umix!umich!mibte!gamma!ulysses!andante!alice!bs
From: bs@alice.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: C++ as a better C (fact or fiction)?
Message-ID: <7854@alice.UUCP>
Date: 6 May 88 21:39:34 GMT
References: <6590041@hplsla.HP.COM> <7853@alice.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ
Lines: 28
Summary: fact



I have seen reports on several large internal AT&T project using C++
as ``a better C''. They were happy and even the crudest measurements
showed improvements that could not be attributed to other sources.

I am NOT talking about toy projects or projects staffed exclusively
by MIT PhDs or projects chosen for a specifically perfect fit with
some C++ features.

An interesting aspect is that the benefits appears to increase with time
as peoples expertice grows and as people drifts towards using C++ as
a ``data abstraction language'' where those techniques are appropriate.

The smooth integration of the various features seems to ease the introduction
of new techniques into environments where  one could not easily ``stop
the world'' while changing to a new system and allows programmers and
designers to learn at their own pace.

This approach can work and so can the approach of throwing people into
``object-oriented programming'' head first. I strongly suspect that
these approaches suplements each other and allows people to use a
style of programming/design that suits their temprament, skills, and needs.

I don't see people using C++ as only ``a better C'' for long, though.
With C++ in place the drift towards the more advanced features and
techniques is just about inevitable - the benefits and opportunities
simply becomes too obvious to resist.