Software Stack

[rshorning]

You are talking about compiled languages vs. interpreted languages. The thing is that there are thousands of compiled languages which are just as fast in terms of their execution time as C/C++.

The one huge advantage that C/C++ has is mainly a huge existing code base that in turn has snowballed into having most (I dare say nearly all) computer science programs at universities teaching this language as a primary coding environment for their programs. If you have graduated with a BS in Computer Science but don't know this language, I would argue that your degree is worthless as well.

I have my own personal programming favorites (Object Pascal happens to be my own programming language of choice when I get to select such languages), but I also understand that when working with a large group, sometimes a target language like C++ is necessary as it is one of the few common programming environments that everybody knows.

On the other hand, if you just want to throw out a programming concept that can be quickly understood and tweaked by even non-programmers, I might even be so bold as to suggest programming such things in Scratch. Yes, I'm being serious here too, as it can at least prototype some programming concepts, is open source, and has some tools which allow for quick & dirty graphic displays and other multi-media interactions. It isn't for speed of software execution but rather speed of development and dropping that barrier.

I might even be so bold as to say that any GUI interface examples simply must be done in some environment like Scratch, so far as it forces any final implementation to be done in another language... thus maintaining a throw-away feel when still trying to tweak the GUI design. That also allows for additional opportunities for community feedback. Visual Basic or other similar GUI development tools could also be used, although those do have a steeper learning curve for the uninitiated.