Post AGCuoZVrA8jiWduo08 by piusbird@tilde.zone
(DIR) More posts by piusbird@tilde.zone
(DIR) Post #AGCowurZ4G4HKjfH1s by kzimmermann@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T16:43:46Z
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Is there still room for C programming today with the popularity of languages like Rust?
(DIR) Post #AGCpLocNQJKxCkQwiW by werwolf@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T16:48:13Z
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@kzimmermann of course. Rust is the new cool kid. But C is the indisputable king of programming languages. Our computers run on mountains of C code. It's irreplaceable at the short term
(DIR) Post #AGCpqgPnyGXuk1Gvqq by berkes@bitcoinhackers.org
2022-02-06T16:53:50Z
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@werwolf @kzimmermann That implies C-developers are to become maintainers of legacy only.I think that is something to consider, though: eventually, rust *may* replace C for all new projects, so you'll carry the same fate as COBOL or Perl developers: highly paid, in great demand, but mostly trying to keep old stuff running. This is not today, not this year, maybe not even this decade. But I believe it may happen, so weigh in this risk.
(DIR) Post #AGCsikhaRsXpaAV1Iu by deightonrobbie@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T17:26:01Z
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@kzimmermann As long as there isn't a mainstream operating system written in a programming language like rust this question is meanlingless ;)
(DIR) Post #AGCsr9elYIrDIIBcjw by deightonrobbie@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T17:27:29Z
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@kzimmermann As long as there isn't a mainstream operating system written in a programming language like rust this question is meanlingless ;)Also, this: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=BE&q=rust,c
(DIR) Post #AGCsusLFrzVSkfpnto by deightonrobbie@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T17:28:11Z
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@kzimmermann As long as there isn't a mainstream operating system written in a programming language like rust this question is meanlingless ;)Also, this: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=rust,c
(DIR) Post #AGCuoZVrA8jiWduo08 by piusbird@tilde.zone
2022-02-06T17:49:29Z
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@kzimmermann Yes but resources are scant, my recommendation would be to read good code and try to imitate it. OpenBSD and musl seems a good places to start. At least that's where i'm starting. 😀​
(DIR) Post #AGCwlWjHFsFKvqruXg by fedops@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T18:11:20Z
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@kzimmermann of course there is. Just dive in.The beauty of C is that everything you need to know about the language fits comfortably into the few pages of The Book.
(DIR) Post #AGDBL8ZRx4rjmz98Iy by kzimmermann@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T20:54:40Z
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@piusbird good idea, hadn't thought about studying the musl libc instead of glibc. Guess that also having OpenBSD's style/examples available would help develop some good habits for secure code - one of the things that I keep hearing C can falter at.
(DIR) Post #AGDBgvNRgb0JEyv7ey by kzimmermann@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T20:58:35Z
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@fedops guess there's no way in rather than going head-first hands-on :)Though I'm curious what is the name of "The Book" that is being referred to :P
(DIR) Post #AGDCLwErO68tmlSfpo by fedops@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T21:05:59Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@kzimmermann the second edition of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language
(DIR) Post #AGDDm1B7kCz6aaiIgi by dcz@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T21:21:55Z
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@kzimmermann There is room, but before you jump in, consider that you won't learn it thoroughly in the first 5 years, maybe ever. There are too many subtle pitfalls that are really only known to those who closely follow compiler programming.On the other hand, if you're very conservative with your code, you won't have to deal with the pitfalls.I think the biggest advantage of learning C is repeaedly shooting yourself in the foot, so you can appreciate not doing it when you use other languages.
(DIR) Post #AGDFajRjX0PyJiEEkq by ClosedGL@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T21:42:18Z
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@kzimmermann Rust seems promising for memory safety, but there is no specification and one has to rely on the official compiler, toolchain, and package repository.
(DIR) Post #AGDQBqHo3x4Bmpv53A by kzimmermann@fosstodon.org
2022-02-06T23:41:04Z
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@ClosedGL good points. I have heard that there have been talks of some big corpos like amazon trying to steer Rust development towards their own interests, too.(not that it couldn't happen to other languages, though: Python, Go and Java all have some sort of large "benefactor" in the back despite beating their chests about being Open Source)