OK, but I didn't say that no one can write C without bugs. I said that blaming languages is good, that we'll all lose due to people continuing to use C, that C programs aren't inherently smaller and faster than other languages, and that people should treat writing C as they would treat writing crypto.
To clarify, I know you may not have said "no one can" but plenty of other HN commenters are saying exactly that on a regular basis. Thank you for refraining from repeating this absurd hyperbole.
C programs are not inherently smaller and faster but in practice this is usually the case. Can you guide me to some Rust programs that are smaller than their C counterparts. The thing that holds me back from experimenting more with Rust is the (apparently) enormous size of the development environment relative to a GCC toolchain.
The number of downlaods from crates.io is questionably large and some of the binaries I have produced were absolutely gigantic. Largest executables I have ever compiled. Crazy.
We do not "lose" if people keep writing in C as long as its the right people. The right programmer for the job. All programmers are not created equal no matter what languages they use. Absent professional certifications and enforceable quality standards, perhaps the world of writing software for use by others needs an ethos something along the lines of "code within your means". Memory-safe languages are great but it seems like they just enable people to become far too ambitious in what they think they can take on. This is no problem at all unless and until they start marketing their grand creation to undiscerning users who are none the wiser. (This is of course the general idea behind the "dont roll your own" meme. However, I do not think it should be limited to cryptography.)
Whereas saying "no one can write C without bugs" over and over is a good argument.
Its hyperbole. If the argument was "few people can write C without bugs" that would be much easier to digest.
OK, but I didn't say that no one can write C without bugs. I said that blaming languages is good, that we'll all lose due to people continuing to use C, that C programs aren't inherently smaller and faster than other languages, and that people should treat writing C as they would treat writing crypto.
To clarify, I know you may not have said "no one can" but plenty of other HN commenters are saying exactly that on a regular basis. Thank you for refraining from repeating this absurd hyperbole.
C programs are not inherently smaller and faster but in practice this is usually the case. Can you guide me to some Rust programs that are smaller than their C counterparts. The thing that holds me back from experimenting more with Rust is the (apparently) enormous size of the development environment relative to a GCC toolchain.
The number of downlaods from crates.io is questionably large and some of the binaries I have produced were absolutely gigantic. Largest executables I have ever compiled. Crazy.
We do not "lose" if people keep writing in C as long as its the right people. The right programmer for the job. All programmers are not created equal no matter what languages they use. Absent professional certifications and enforceable quality standards, perhaps the world of writing software for use by others needs an ethos something along the lines of "code within your means". Memory-safe languages are great but it seems like they just enable people to become far too ambitious in what they think they can take on. This is no problem at all unless and until they start marketing their grand creation to undiscerning users who are none the wiser. (This is of course the general idea behind the "dont roll your own" meme. However, I do not think it should be limited to cryptography.)
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