On 4/17/2021 10:12 AM, Manfred wrote:
> (cross-posting to comp.lang.c to let the heat fire up)
>
> On 4/17/2021 7:56 AM, Juha Nieminen wrote:
>> I know that this is probably going to piss off avid C programmers,
>> but I don't really care all that much.
>
> Excellent start
>
> [...]
>>
>> I myself happen to know both languages quite well, and in fact I
>> program in both languages as my profession, and I would say that
>> I am very knowledgeable and proficient in both languages and have
>> no trouble in developing in either one. I am of the strong opinion
>> that no, C is not a "simple" language, and that C++ makes so many
>> things so much simpler, easier and safer.
>>
>> I was reminded of this in a quite concrete manner recently when I was
>> trying to help a beginner programmer who had decided to try his hands
>> on C, and wanted to create a simple text editor, which would read a
>> text file, allow the user to edit the text in several ways, and to
>> save the file.
>>
>> It quite quickly turned very frustrating for *both* of us ...
>
> The first comment that comes to mind is that probably part of the
> frustration stems from your approach (no offense) to try and use in C a
> design that would be suitable for C++ instead. Despite their name, the
> two are quite different languages. The similarities are about their
> runtime footprint, not about how they are used.
>
> For example, at a first glance the design of string object is not that
> great for C.
> A common pattern that pops to the mind is to use opaque structs (see
> e.g. FILE*), and have something like:
>
> typedef struct string_t STRING;
>
> STRING* alloc_string(); // creates the empty string
> STRING* set_string(STRING* s, const char* value);
> void free_string(STRING* s);
> STRING* concat_string(STRING* s1, STRING* s2);
> ...
>
> This way there would be no ambiguity about how the STRING object has to
> be used.
> And yes, in C you have to do all yourself - C is a low level language,
> and it is meant for low level stuff. It is hardly the right tool for
> anything meant to interface with a human user - it is (still) great for
> system programming and back-end processing, IMO.
>
> As second, I agree with Jacob that a text editor is a simple tool, but
> it is not easy to make expecially for a beginner.
>
>
> [snip]

Wrt using GC as the everlasting crutch:

https://youtu.be/ao-Sahfy7Hg