GCC 4.8.0 Release Marks Completion of C++ Migration

hypnosec writes "GCC 4.8.0 has been released (download), and with it, the developers of the GNU Compiler Collection have switched to C++ as the implementation language, a project the developers have been working for years. Licensed under the GPLv3 or later, version 4.8.0 of the GCC not only brings with it performance improvements but also adds memory error detector AddressSanitizer, and race condition detection tool the ThreadSanitizer. Developers wanting to build their own version of GCC should have at their disposal a C++ compiler that understands C++ 2003."

Re:chicken or egg?

[timeOday]

It is like everything in modern life... how do you build a lathe without a lathe? Or a generator without electricity? It would take a thousand years to start from nothing and get back to where we are now.

Re:chicken or egg?

[Laxori666]

Enough people use the term "beg the question" this way that I've just gotten used to it by now. It doesn't bother me anymore. It's over, man. The war is lost. It's in common use now. Rewire the part of your brain that gets annoyed by it. You will be happier in the long run.

Re:chicken or egg?

[qbast]

Could we? Easily accessible deposits of any useful ore or fuel has been mined out ages ago. We could find ourselves in situation when we need resources to build tools, but without those tools we cannot access resources.

Re:chicken or egg?

[alexo]

Enough people use the term "beg the question" this way that I've just gotten used to it by now. It doesn't bother me anymore. It's over, man. The war is lost. It's in common use now.

The problem with that approach is that you lose an important idiom that doesn't have a good substitute.

So, no, some things in the language are worth preserving (at least until a suitable alternative is found).

Rewire the part of your brain that gets annoyed by it. You will be happier in the long run.

You can educate people about the beauty of the language without being annoyed.

You know what, English is my 3rd language. I only moved into an English-speaking country when I was in my 30s, and if I can appreciate its richness, I'm pretty sure that a native speaker can do so as well.