I come not to bury C++, but to praise it...

[python newbie]

Are you against using C++ wrapped in a library such as wxWindows?  This
library makes it pretty easy painless to write cross-platform stuff, but
even on Windows alone, it beats MFC or the going price of Delphi.

"John Benson" <jsbenson at bensonsystems.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.337.1074032524.12720.python-list at python.org...
> I got into Python because I took one look at C++ and saw all the
handwaving
> in the introductory O'Reilly book to the effect that "everything looks
sweet
> now, but wait until these snazzy little features interact..." and then
> started casting around for another road to OOP. I happened upon Python,
and
> continue to use Python.
>
> I think that the already-posted comments seeking to appreciate the
> historical origin and motivations of C++ are essential to understanding
it's
> applicability in the present.
>
> C++ started as a quintessentially Unix-like exercise in software
> engineering: add functionality by leveraging existing software components
to
> the max. Another level of preprocessor (Cfront) was added to the compiler
> tool chain and Bingo! you had a new language. The advantage was quick
> time-to-implement. A big disadvantage was that you had to grok C to debug
> C++. Later compilers took C++ direct to object, but the C, non-OOP
heritage
> persisted in the new language: you had to master pointers and references
to
> really do C++. Later languages simplified the situation by dumping
pointers.
>
> I think that C++ was a great exercise, but software engineering has
> advanced. Why not take advantage of the latest packaging of OOP and enjoy
> the smoother ride? Pick Java, or Python or whatever pleases you. I'm happy
> using C for projects that fit it, and Python for more ambitions OOP stuff.
> C++ was a great way to move OOP forward, but now it looks more like a
> transitional form than a best-of-breed. Sic transit gloria mundi, which is
> Latin for "when you're hot, your hot; when you're not, you're not" or
> something like that.
>
> If you have a big investment in C++ and can crank out beautiful code in
your
> sleep, that's fine too. I just don't expect it to be as easy to find
people
> to maintain it as if it were written in C, or Python, or Java, or
whatever.
>
>
>