I’ve written before about not being a fan of C++. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I think it’s a terrible language that removed most useful aspects of C while keeping C’s problems. Partly, I suppose, that’s because I’m also not a big fan of Object Oriented programming in general but if I have to use it, I’d much prefer to use something like Common Lisp’s CLOS. C++, it seems to me, has everything backwards.
All of that is a lonely position, of course, and sometimes it can seem as if I’m a single lost voice shouting into the night. It turns out, though, that I’m not alone. Nick Walton has a short video in which he announces that he’s moving from C++ to C in 2019. His reasons aren’t particularly profound—he simply doesn’t like C++ and fails to see the utility of its conventions—but he does mention something that is probably obvious but that I hadn’t thought about: many C++ users would rather use C but feel that they must use C++ for “cultural” reasons. He has a clip from Mike Acton making that point.
There’s nothing in the video that’s going to change your opinion—whatever it is—and Walton says at the outset that that’s not his intention. He’s merely explaining why moving to C makes sense for him. Likewise, I’m not trying to change your mind. I’m just enjoying not feeling alone in the world on that particular question.