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From: jcm@hgc.edu (James McKim)
Subject: Re: Has C++ had its day?
Message-ID: <1995Jun27.121935.4921@merlin.hgc.edu>
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References: <NEWTNews.803919664.16092.sellers@sellers.sellers.com> <dewar.804000976@gnat> <Jan.Bytesmiths-2606951420580001@138.120.62.112>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 12:19:35 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.object:33730 comp.lang.smalltalk:25082 comp.lang.ada:31794

In article <Jan.Bytesmiths-2606951420580001@138.120.62.112> Jan.Bytesmiths@acm.org writes:

[...]

>
>In Smalltalk, an object does not have to inherit from another object to be
>type compatible with it. In C++, it must. This is why Smalltalkers see
>little need for multiple inheritance, and why C++ers can't take Smalltalk

I'm genuinely curious about why Smalltalkers (or at least a number who
have posted here) find inheritance to be important and useful, but do
not feel the same way about multiple inheritance. Also, if you do not
use inheritance to support subtyping relationships, what _do_ you use
it for? Just implementation inheritance? But surely multiple inheritance
would allow you to reuse multiple implementations, so why wouldn't it be a
good thing?



[...]

>
>Don't get me wrong, C++ has its place (somewhere). But static typing is
>30-year-old technology -- attacking Smalltalk because it purposely lacks
>it is a bit like attacking cars because there's nowhere to hang your buggy
>whip.

You made some good arguments for dynamic binding earlier, but the age
of the technology is not one of them. If static typing is 30 years old
then dynamic typing is 40 years old. 'Course the error messages back
then weren't as good.... Also it is a little unfair to equate static
typing in general with one language's implementation of static
typing.

>
> Jan Steinman, Bytesmiths <Jan.Bytesmiths@acm.org>
> 2002 Parkside Court, West Linn, OR 97068-2767 USA, +1 503 657 7703
> 1025 Grenon #1002, Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8S5 Canada, +1 613 820 9919

Hope this helps,
-- Jim
-- 

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