On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 03:37:38PM -0400, Nick Sabalausky wrote: > "Paulo Pinto" <[email protected]> wrote in message > news:[email protected]... [...] > > The gamming industry seems to be slowing moving to C#. Would we > > still be able to convince developers to move to D instead? > > > > Yes. I suspect that the movement to C# is somewhat of a compromise due > to the fact that C/C++ has been the *only* real systems language > usable for most gaming systems. Obviously, something better than C++ > is needed, and thanks to the moronic VM/interpreted obsessions from > the last decade or so that rendered most new languages impotent, there > was no real alternative to C++. So, I suspect, that's why they made > the compromise of going with C#.
Yeah, I've been working with C++ for almost 2 decades, and I really can't say I'd recommend it for new projects. At my day job, for example, we actually migrated from C++ back to plain old C, due to an incredibly over-engineered C++ codebase that was slow, bloated, and unmaintainable. It sounds laughable to the casual observer, but I have to say that there was actually a lot gained by this migration. We are much more productive with the new C-based system than C++. There are just too many ways to write bad code in C++. C makes everything simple and clear, if a bit tedious at times (due to basically partially reimplementing a class system in C). Simply put, C++ was a good idea, but it simply could not live up to its promises in real-life projects. In my own personal projects, I've discovered that C++ is best used as a "C with classes" language, not a true OO language. Its OO features are just so broken that anything beyond the simplest textbook examples are rife with all sorts of unnecessary complications, hacks, and workarounds that dramatically reduces programmer productivity. I used to say that if you wanted real OO, you should be looking at Java or Eiffel (or something along those lines), not C++. > But D is *real* systems language, unlike C#. And frankly, it beats the > snot out of C#. I'm not just saying that subjectively as D fan: Five > years ago (if not less) I considered C# and D tied as my favorite > languages. But the more I used both, the more I got fed up with C#'s > dumb limitations and MS's disinterest in addressing them, and the more > I liked D. I've never programmed in C#, so I can't really objectively compare C# and D. I *will* say, though, that in many ways D feels like "C++ done right", or "what C++ should have been". In that sense, I think the factors that drove game devs to abandon C++ should be what drives them to adopt D. > If D can't be made to attract game devs away from C++/C#, then I'll > loose what little faith I have left in mainstream games development. [...] Well, the Manu's of the world are still clamoring for some missing features in D that will finally convince them to adopt D. :-) But IMAO, indie gaming is where it's at these days. True creativity has left commercial games since id's DOOM days. T -- I don't trust computers, I've spent too long programming to think that they can get anything right. -- James Miller
