Why I am not a C++ programmer: ten years on.

As a far-too-full-of-myself CS undergrad, I wrote, "Many C++ critiques are available online, but none of them address what I regard as C++'s fundamental failure..." Man, it's painful linking the above. I wrote it ten years ago, as a TA for a course that had previously been taught in C++. Despite trying way too hard to project an unearned air of worldly cool, in most ways I stand by my claims. C++ is a broken notation: its attempts at being high level make it inappropriate for serious systems work, and its attempts at being low level make it even worse for applications. Incidentally, it has a truly unfortunate culture attached to it, rife with books, tutorials, even conferences which purport to be about "design," but are in fact about about "delegation," "factories," etc., and Cartesian products thereof. None for me, thanks.

Why the stroll down memory lane? Because today a coworker introduced me to Yossi Kreinin's C++ Frequently Questioned Answers. I can no longer claim that "none of [the C++ critiques online] address ... C++'s fundamental failure," as Yossi's kills them all. Folks, we are in the presence of greatness. I feel as Salieri must have upon first encountering the works of Mozart.