From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fac41,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 114809,b87849933931bc93 X-Google-Attributes: gid114809,public From: "Paul Keister" Subject: Re: What is wrong with OO ? Date: 1997/01/28 Message-ID: <01bc0c70$45506b60$LocalHost@user>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 212642070 references: <32D11FD3.41C6@wi.leidenuniv.nl> <32ebdcca.1653858@nntp.ix.netcom.com> organization: Common Knowledge newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.smalltalk,comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.ada,comp.object,comp.software-eng Date: 1997-01-28T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: William Grosso wrote in article <32ebdcca.1653858@nntp.ix.netcom.com>... : On Sun, 26 Jan 1997 16:09:42 +1100, gscase@tpgi.com.au (Sean Case) : wrote: : > : >So, C++ must be easy to learn, or else there wouldn't be hundreds of books : >about it by people who don't understand it properly. : > : >Or, to put it another way, C++ looks easy to learn, but has hidden pitfalls : >that bedevil even those who write books on the subject. Everything involving computers has hidden pitfalls. : Or, to put it another way, lots of crappy books have been written on : C++ because people who don't know much about it have decided : to demonstrate their ignorance (and make a quick buck or two). : : Why this reflects on C++ rather than the authors is pretty much a : mystery to me. C++ was designed so that it could be learned in stages, to that experienced programmers (particularly C programmers) could use individual features of the language as they are ready. Unfortunatley, many people choose to write books while they are in the beginning stages of learning C++. For some of us, the love affair with C++ begins with the perception that just by using member functions and inheritance in our procedural code, things get clearer, and code gets easier to maintain. Some people never get past this stage(look at the Microsoft Foundation Classes, for instance). I my case, it took years for me to reach a level of understanding where I was able to realize my ignorance. I consider this to be a real strength of C++ and a key factor in its overwhelming popularity. But it does have a downside, which is that beginner C++ programmers tend to be overconfident. Writing a book with a title "Learn C++ in 29 Days" is the result of calculating deception on the part of the author and/or publisher. But when someone buys the book, reads it in 29 days, and then has enough confidence to consider themselves a C++ expert, you have to at least partly blame the accessibility of the languges. I don't think this is a bad thing, just a fact of life, and a natural consequence of a language that is so woderfully accessible. -- Paul Keister "opinions express are generally the exact opposite of my employer" http://www.crl.com/~diyall/husband