Oddbean new post about login | logout This is why I am loathe to depend upon software from people who are aren't passionate about the underlying protocol. The devil is in the maintenance. nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpvkkwr098vnkj8qvxsqzykm9cddzd5rqjw7vg86gllr3uzg8l822qyghwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnhd9hx2tcpvemhxue69uhkv6tvw3jhytnwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0dec82c33d56xu7fkdp48z7n9wphrguncddh82ufex33nyemsw9a8yv3ew4nxk6mhxa68gcmc09skkdmkxsekudnkweekz6nrxf4xc0mzwfhkzerrv9ehg0t5wf6k2qpq40agx4ers9cn6mqtp77p8cwrnndmuvyf887enja630mduql7073qd7kq3f
It's also why monetizing infrastructure development is important. FOSS ain't free.
Yeah, there's a personal and sometimes financial incentive to build something snazzy, but not to repair or restore anything. Decaying projects, all over.
It would help if upstreams didn't introduce breaking changes for reasons of fashion. There is a lot of C code written before I was born that compiles painlessly for me, yet some Rust I started to write last year for an obscure device I own doesn't, any more...
Yes, the higher-level languages are more complex and messy, and prone to tinkering.
I hope its that, and not cultural change over time...
C# is an example of this cultural change, I think. It's been accruing more TypeScript-y syntax over the years.
Haven't used it, since the 90s.
It has definitely established itself as a modern language, in my estimation, though it still has some legacy holdovers. It has many intuitive syntactic sugar options, and, at least today, it offers dynamic typing, which opens up some creative problem-solving possibilities. I don't have terribly strong opinions on the .NET CLR. It works well on Linux, now, which is good, and there are many well-supported libraries for the framework.
I've been considering exploring Rust for personal projects, but for my current one, I went with C++ instead. Your observation validates the decision to me. C and C++ seem to be some of the most stable languages. As long as it can compile on your architecture, you're good to go.
Because a lot of younger/newer programmers can't use them (pointers), so there's a barrier to entry for the trendy people.
My first semester programming class was C and more than half of the class disappeared before or after the exam. C and Calculus, and the next semester you move from the auditorium to a classroom.
Pointers are pretty foundational knowledge, even if you regularly use language with smart memory management. C#, for instance, distinguishes between value types and reference types, which make a lot more sense when you understand pointers. I've found that knowledge pretty helpful on several occasions in my day job.
A lot of programmers don't know how computers work and don't care.
My son is a programmer & built his last two machines from the ground up. Bad programmers you mean. Not real programmers.
That's so sad. It should be mandatory to build some Flip flops and implement a clock in 1st semester. A serial to parallel interface and vice versa. Understand memory spaces and addresses. First in theory, then with an soldering iron. Build a computer from discrete components. Something like this. Every electronics technician with an 3 years apprenticeship can do this. FFS they should at minimum program some low-tech robot in C or assembler. Or at least do something with an ATmega or similar.