Why is C++ so Cryptic?

[Codewarrior123]

WHY? WHY WHY WHY???? it makes no SESNE! why... wimper wimper... WHY?

[parksie]

It makes perfect sense, but you have to know it first :(

Anyway, if you're unhappy, here's some christmas cheer:

#include <stdio.h>
main(t,_,a)char *a;{return!0<t?t<3?main(-79,-13,a+main(-87,1-_,
main(-86,0,a+1)+a)):1,t<_?main(t+1,_,a):3,main(-94,-27+t,a)&&t==2?_<13?
main(2,_+1,"%s %d %d\n"):9:16:t<0?t<-72?main(_,t,
"@n'+,#'/*{}w+/w#cdnr/+,{}r/*de}+,/*{*+,/w{%+,/w#q#n+,/#{l+,/n{n+,/+#n+,/#\
;#q#n+,/+k#;*+,/'r :'d*'3,}{w+K w'K:'+}e#';dq#'l \
q#'+d'K#!/+k#;q#'r}eKK#}w'r}eKK{nl]'/#;#q#n'){)#}w'){){nl]'/+#n';d}rw' i;# \
){nl]!/n{n#'; r{#w'r nc{nl]'/#{l,+'K {rw' iK{;[{nl]'/w#q#n'wk nw' \
iwk{KK{nl]!/w{%'l##w#' i; :{nl]'/*{q#'ld;r'}{nlwb!/*de}'c \
;;{nl'-{}rw]'/+,}##'*}#nc,',#nw]'/+kd'+e}+;#'rdq#w! nr'/ ') }+}{rl#'{n' ')# \
}'+}##(!!/")
:t<-50?_==*a?putchar(31[a]):main(-65,_,a+1):main((*a=='/')+t,_,a+1)
  :0<t?main(2,2,"%s"):*a=='/'||main(0,main(-61,*a,
"!ek;dc i@bK'(q)-[w]*%n+r3#l,{}:\nuwloca-O;m .vpbks,fxntdCeghiry"),a+1);}

[Vlatko]

Parksie is right. First learn C++ then you will see that it makes a really good sense. I think that the part that makes C++ cryptic is the " { } " and the " ; ". These signs are used very often in an app and that is why it looks cryptic but it is not.

[KENNNY]

C/C++'s crypticness is part of its appeal
some things make a lot of sense, more than VB - like variable declarations:

i like

int x;
rather than
dim x as integer - it takes sooo long to write it all

[Codewarrior123]

how many lines of code do you have to type to make a windowed app that has a button that beeps when you press it?
With VB u have to go to the trouble of click dragging a button, but the codeing is summed up in 1 line.

Beep.

[Sam Finch]

it's pretty mutch the same in C++, if you use MFC and all that crap, but I tend to use it to write dlls which I run from VB front ends, or do all the windows stuff myself.

Basicly with VB everything is coded for you, which is what makes the apps so big, with C++ pretty much nothing is coded for you, you can use code libraries with #include but that just inserts somebody elses code into the file for you. so C++ files can be very small, which is a great advantage for distribution.


The actual crypticness of the language, ie semicolons and curly brackets, does actually make a lot of sense and is really usefull, but it does take a while to get used to it.

I tried learning C++ 4 times before I got the hang of it, but it's worth it, it's damn powerful.

[HarryW]

If you think C++ is cryptic, take a look at this thread.

Anyway, C isn't really cryptic, just low-level and strongly typed. VB hides a lot of the things that the computer is actually doing to achieve what you ask. An example is strings - they are greatly simplified in VB. You can simplify them in C too, but the functionality is still there.

If you want to make something beep, then by all means use VB. It's there to speed up development times for apps that aren't too speed-dependant (among other things).

[tcurrier]

"WHY? WHY WHY WHY???? it makes no SESNE! why... wimper wimper... WHY?"

well.... maybe, just maybe, if you can't spell 'SENSE', C++ won't make sense ...

(sorry about that one)

[parksie]

Ooh...harsh

But if we're in the mood...it's whimper...
All I can say is - you'll get used to it. It's logical and the brain likes logic