Why leave C++?

A recruiter asked me why I wanted to move away from C++. The short answer is that it is no longer the shiny new thing. The longer answer is more complex.

Why move away from C++?

For starters, let's decide on where I'm moving *to*. It's easy to leave C++ but harder to pick the destination. In my mind, the brighter future lies with C#/.NET, Java, Python, and Ruby.

First reason: C++ is tied to hardware. That is, C++ is the last of the big languages to compile to the processor level. C#, Java, Perl, Python, and Ruby all compile to a pseudo-machine and run on interpreters. C# runs in the Microsoft CLR, Java runs on the JVM, and so on. By itself, this is not a problem for C++ but an advantage: C++ programs run more efficiently than the later languages. Unfortunately for C++, the run-time efficiency is not enough to make up for development costs.

Second reason: Easier languages. C++ is a hard language to learn. It has lots of rules, and you as a developer must know them all. The later languages have backed off and use fewer rules. (Note for C#: you're getting complicated and while not at C++'s level of complexity you do have a lot to remember.)

Third reason: Garbage collection. The later languages all have it; C++ does not (unless you use an add-in library). In C++ you must delete() everything that you new(); in the later languages you can new() and never worry about delete(). Not worrying about deleting objects lets me focus on the business problem.

Fourth reason: Better tools. Debugging and testing tools can take advantage of the interpreter layer. Similar tools are available in C++ but their developers have to work harder.

Fifth reason: Platform independence isn't that important. The big advantage of C++ is platform independence; all of the major platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris) have ANSI-compliant compilers. And the platform independence works, at the command-line level. It doesn't extend to the GUI level. Microsoft has its API for Windows, Mac has its API, Solaris usually use X, and Linux uses X but often has Gnome or KDE on top of X.

Sixth reason: Developer efficiency. I'm much more effective with Perl than with C#, and more effective with C# than C++. C++ is at the bottom of the pile, the programming language that takes me the longest time to implement a solution. It's usually better for me (and my clients) to get a program done quickly. I can complete the assignment in Perl in half a day, in C#.NET in a day, and in C++ in two or more days. (This does depend on the specifics of the task.)

Seventh reason: Fit with web technologies. C++ fits poorly with the web frameworks that are emerging; especially for cloud computing. Yes, you can make it work with enough effort. But the later languages make it work with less effort.

Eighth reason: Applications in later languages have less cruft. This is probably a function of time and not language design. Cruft accumulates over time, and the applications written in later languages have had less time to accumulate cruft. I'm sure that they will. But by then, the older C++ applications will have accumulated even more cruft. And cruft makes mantenance harder.

Ninth reason: Management support. I've observed that managers support projects with the newer languages better than projects in C++. This is possibly because the applications in newer languages are newer, and the management team supports the newer applications. By 'support', I mean 'provide resources'. New applications are given people, money, and technology; older applications are put into 'maintenance mode' with limited resources.

So there are my reasons for leaving C++. None of these reasona are tied directly to C++; in fact I expect to see many of the same problems with newer applications in the next few years. Look to see another article, say a few years hence, of why I want to leave C#.