C++ language's successor
What language is the best candidate to replace C++ after 35 years of existence and millions of crashes due to its unsafe syntax?
A successor to C++ must produce very fast applications and code working on all platforms. But we can also speak of succession to a language that uses exactly the same syntax then C, adds classes and provides more advanced functions. So, a modern C++ even if it is not intended to replace it everywhere.
Vala (2002)
Available at Gnome, look like a demonstration of GObject, written by the same team. Vala replace C++ on the Gnome platform.
Features:
- Compile to C.
- Based on GObject which adds a class system in C.
- Uses GType types which allows to interface multiple languages.
- Memory automatically handled by reference counting.
- Interface with other language by vapi files.
- Compatible with GTK.
Simple example:
int main () {
print ("Hello World\n");
return 0;
}Class:
class Hello : Object {
void bye () {
stdout.printf ("Hello World\n");
}
}
var example = new Hello ();
example.bye(); Many programs have been written in Vala, but even if it can be used outside the Gnome environment, it is essentially in combination with GTK. It suffers from a lack of development currently (in 2017).
D (2001)
Designed as an alternative to C++ with simplifications such as dynamic arrays.
- Compatible with C (but not C++).
- Simple inheritance and mixins .
- Concurrent actors.
- Memory managed by a garbage collector. It can be disabled, but then the compatibility with libraries is lost.
Simple example:
import std.stdio;
void main() {
writeln("Hello World!);
}Class:
class Hello {
char[] content;
this(char[] str) { // constructeur
content = str;
}
void display() {
writeln(content);
}
}
Hello hello = new Hello("Hello World!");C# (2000)
Since the Roslyn platform, available on GitHub, C# can be compiled into binary code rather than bytecode, and it can access the system resources, so even if it was originally an alternative to Java, it becomes a possible replacement to C++, for applications where the garbage collector is not a drawback.
Features:
- Compiles to bytecode or binary.
- Works on all operating systems including mobiles.
- Can be combined with other .NET languages. Compatible with C++ in managed mode on .NET.
- Parallel programming.
- Memory managed by a garbage collector.
Simple example:
void Main() {
Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
}Class:
public Class Point : Shape
{
public int x, y;
Point(int x, int y) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
public void move(int w, int h) {
this.x += x;
this.y += h;
}
}
Point p = new Point(0,0);
p.move(100,50);Dart (2013)
Designed as an alternative to JavaScript with the syntax of C, this is not a system language, but it can replace C++ for scripting on the server or the desktop with a speed close to that of Asm.js.
- Works on the Fletch Virtual Machine based on V8.
- Classes and inheritance.
- Static or dynamic variables.
- Concurrency with isolates.
- Operator overloading.
- Might also be compiled into JavaScript.
Simple example:
void main() {
print('Hello World!');
}Class:
class Point {
num x, y;
Point(this.x, this.y); // constructeur
void move(num xo, num yo) {
x += xo;
y += yo;
}
}
var p = new Point(0, 0);
p.move(100, 50);Other languages
There are other languages derived from C or to have a vocation to replace C++ as system language.
- Go. It has replaced C++ at least at Google who designed it for this purpose. Its domain is that of Web services, which is only a partial target of C++. This is certainly an area where C++ has no future.
- Java. Its syntax is a modernization of that of C++, but its principles are very different. One file per class, running on a virtual machine. It is especially used for Web applications which puts it in competition with Go.
- Rust. Mozilla language working on the LLVM virtual machine. Designed for portable applications, it has a different syntax but also, for safety purposes, adds major constraints to the programmer. C and C ++ owe their success to the fact that the programmeur can do what he wants in these languages. We doubt that Rust obtain success by imposing the opposite.
- Nim. Its syntax is similar to that of Python and its audience is currently small. We discuss it because some see it as a successor to C++ as a system language. It is compiled to C like Vala and uses a garbage collector, the latter should be non-blocking for use of Nim to games and the system.
- Asm.js. This subset of JavaScript, is about as fast as native code and as portable as C and it can be used for 3D games with WebGL. If the browser is made an alternative to the operating system, it can actually replace C++ for immersive applications such as games (for example, the Unreal Engine has a C++ and a Asm.js version).
Finally, what successor to C or C++? If we rely on the classification of languages by popularity, none yet! C remains the most widely used language and C++ stands in third place, after Java and before C#.
The emerging trend is that a set of languages, each in a specific field: game development, web application, scripting, etc ... may very well together replace C++, a universal language that can not be replaced everywhere by a single language.
This gives its only real advantage to the syntax derived from C: the programmer can pass more easily from one language to the other to make different types of applications.