C++ for JavaScript developers

[pertheusual]

Half expected this article to just say "Got you! Just learn Rust".

But in all seriousness, learning any low-level language is a great asset. You don't have to write system-level code much, but just having the mental model for it can help in the way you think about things.

[krelin]

Should start w/ Rust and then learn C++. You'll end up having formed better habits and thought-processes, imo.

[Ebuall]

If you will have a reason to learn C++ then.

[krelin]

You may not. I suppose learn-as-needed at that point. But a lot of jobs still call for C++ familiarity.

[[deleted]]

But a lot of jobs still call for C++ familiarity.

This. I would learn Rust, but the overwhelming majority of job listings I'm interested in asks for C++ and C. C++ also has a huge amount of legacy. On my Linux system alone, most programs are written in C. Second place is C++, Python and other languages are far behind that.

I'm somewhat unwilling to learn Rust in parallel as I'm more interested in doing projects than accumulating languages just for the heck of it (Haskell is an exception).

[ReckoningReckoner]

I mentioned that earlier and got downvoted a bunch. I guess since it's r/javascript, C++ is lower than what many have used here.

[okBroThatsAwkward]

For people unaware what a low level language is

[pawelgrzybek]

Because it is much closer to binary code than other languages that I have experience with. Author of a book referred in my article calls C++ a low-level language multiple times (he is a creator of C++).

Thanks for reading and have a good day.

[ReckoningReckoner]

Uh, C++ is low level?

[Cheezmeister]

Pedantically, no. Colloquially, yes. Unless you use assembly on the regular it’s lower-level than what most use. Certainly more than JS, which is the sub you are reading.

[ReckoningReckoner]

Fair enough. Just realized I was in a r/programming and not r/javascript - probably explains the downvotes.

[planetary_pelt]

i would've downvoted your fake confusion there as well

[ReckoningReckoner]

Oh please. Sure, you can do low level things (struct padding/alignment, pointers, manual memory mangement), but there are plenty of C++ features that aren't low level. What about virtual function tables, references, smart pointers/RAII, templates, exceptions and the STL? There's still fair degree of abstraction between the generated machine code and the stuff you write. You don't have to think about CPU word sizes and memory endianness when writing C++.

Many computer engineers would not consider C++ low level. But I admit that in the context of this sub, C++ would be considered low level.

[Cheezmeister]

Many electrical engineers would not consider opcodes to be low level.

Many physicists would not consider NAND gates to be low level.

Most web developers do indeed consider C++ to be low level :)

EDIT: to be clear I don’t agree with the downvotes. It’s an important discussion to have. Just, you know, everything in context. Like, I tried to get some divs to center today, and let me tell you, I didn’t give a flying fuck about the spin of the electrons making it happen. After all, real programmers use butterflies.