Is Google Trying to Kill C++? (Not Exactly)

Unless you've been living under a rock in the C/C++ community, you've probably heard about Carbon. Carbon was announced on July 20, 2022 by Google at C++ North. Carbon is an experimental language designed around the flaws that C++ has, with the intend of succeeding it like Kotlin did Java.

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[themichaelw]

Who else is stoked to have recruiters hear of Carbon and start listing "3-5 years experience in Carbon" on job descriptions.

[VeryAwesomeSheep]

That feeling when C was replaced but you are still working in pure C

[SlideRSB]

C++ never *replaced* C. Lots of programmers continue to use C. I don't even think that was ever the intention of C++.

[ONIscrooge]

One thing I always need to know about when a language is promoted over C++ is, how much control do I have over the language, in that how much is it going to get in the way?

Yes C++ is CAN be very performant, but that is because it doesn't get in the way of the writer. So it's almost entirely down to their skill on how good C++ code will be.

[GlutesEnjoyer]

I’d never build a codebase around a google backed language. Too much risk of abandonment

[etopowertwon]

Can't wait to write about it in google+ and fork the project into repo at google code.
Knowing google's track record, . I'm sure the project awaits long life ahead of it.

In the meantime I might as well go with Zig. It also has interop with C/C++ as it libclang.

[sprytnychomik]

Sure, standardization makes things less agile. But pre-standardization agility and 'wild west' of language implementations got us in this mess in the first place.

[Sevenhens]

If r/cpp is to believed...this project was born out of Google's frustration over the ISO C++ committee refusing to budge on the ABI issue. The greater meta theory is that this ABI protection stuff is mainly pushed by Microsoft due to their insistence on binary compatibility with older MSVC compilers/Windows versions. Stupid corporate drama over which massive tech company gets to control the language, in other words.

I think we'd have to wait and see if this goes anywhere, though the syntax being so Rust like begs the question on why not just use Rust...
Also promising C++ compatibility without C++ style syntax/templates? Whats the point? Just make a C interface (using the Hourglass pattern for C++) since almost every language in existence will be able to interface with it.

[Jim-mnyq]

10 years from now someone will mention the Carbon language only to be greeted by blank stares.

[grimonce]

Wait... The build system is google owned as well...? That's a no no

[pisse]

Can't wait to read about Carbon on the Google Graveyard site in 5 years

[Siger]

Love when every shitlang has its own package repository.

I tested it and I'm not gonna lie: as long as LLVM has to be the brew version and can't use my already system installed LLVM 14, and as long as I need to use bazel as a build system on top of that very specific LLVM, I'm not touching Carbon. I am currently using gcc, MinGW, MSVC and LLVM to compile a C++ project, all with system installed compilers. It's just a broken build system off the bat

[crckdns]

Weird..
I'm developing in asm/c/c++ for automotive industry..controllers for airbags and other safety/security devices and never heard of any reason why we should switch to something new. I can't even see any advantage of the "successors" for us.

[brecoldyls]

Recently I saw on GitHub that Robert Nystrom (author of some programming books e.g., crafting interpreters), had starred the Carbon repo. Now I know more about it, thanks!

[cowboy-alex]

Great, when there is a stable version, ecosystem of libraries and community support, frameworks and documentation in 20 years I'll check it out.

[kamertonaudiophileplayer]

If you have an experience with C++, JS, Kotlin over 5 years, then you can claim 5 years experience with Carbon.

[SelfMadeSystem]

But doesn't Zig already do this? It's already interoperable with C/C++ and it's very fast and easy to use.

[Andrewzero]

Programming languages are tools made to solve a problem. And each programmer may have their own unique preferences for what tool they want to use. The idea of "language successors" is inevitable, but suggesting that new language is supposed to outright replace another is a but "iffy". Of coarse, that's the purpose, but some people may still prefer an older language for whatever reason.

Of coarse, I totally love the idea of a new language being built with C++ in mind. the C-family syntax is my favorite. But there are a host of things even within C++ that I was never a big fan of, like header files. And manually managing seperate files for things. I gladly accept the slighly longer "compilation times" that may come with the compiler needing to seperate the source file into seperate "header" and "implementation" files. It makes managing the files easier.

[ethanevans]

The rust community is going to flip when they hear "things that rust can't do"