Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.smalltalk,comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.ada,comp.object
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!newsfeed.rice.edu!news.sesqui.net!news.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!feed1.news.erols.com!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!munnari.OZ.AU!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.syd.connect.com.au!syd.csa.com.au!news
From: donh@syd.csa.com.au (Don Harrison)
Subject: Re: OO, C++, and something much better!
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: dev50
Message-ID: <E4Hp53.73q@syd.csa.com.au>
Sender: news@syd.csa.com.au
Reply-To: donh@syd.csa.com.au
Organization: CSC Australia, Sydney
References: <32E712B2.5060@parcplace.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 01:51:02 GMT
Lines: 25
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.c++:242551 comp.lang.smalltalk:49791 comp.lang.eiffel:17584 comp.lang.ada:56356 comp.object:60209

Gee, Eric. It seems like you versus the whole static typing community. :(

You wrote:

:What about propogating a null pointer exception to the user? Is that
:somehow better?

I don't want to argue about whether or not exceptions should be propagated
(as others are doing a good enough job of that). I just want to encourage
you not to use C++ as the basis for your comparison with Smalltalk.

Some of your comments seem to assume that C++ is the sterotypical statically-
typed language. It isn't - it's merely the most popular. :(  You would be
better off comparing Smalltalk with a statically-typed langauge with a 
coherent type system such as Eiffel, Ada or Sather.

Some of your antagonists come from those backgrounds and they would agree with 
you that C++ is the pits. :)


Don.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Don Harrison             donh@syd.csa.com.au


