[fpc-pascal] Fwd: What to do to get new users

[Sven Barth]

Hairy Pixels via fpc-pascal <fpc-pascal at lists.freepascal.org> schrieb am
Sa., 19. Okt. 2024, 03:18:

> On Oct 19, 2024 at 2:31:36 AM, Sven Barth via fpc-pascal <
> fpc-pascal at lists.freepascal.org> wrote:
>
>> This would mean that a new class type or some kind of additional
>> attribute would have to be introduced which would have to be incompatible
>> to non-reference-counted classes as otherwise there would be the chance for
>> memory leaks or use-after-free again. This in turn would mean that
>> essenentially the whole class hierarchy would have to be reimplemented.
>>
>
> You just only adopt it when you want it or in new programs entirely.
> Remember we’re talking about new users with no programs wanting to start
> fresh.
>

You don't get it, do you? It's either all or nothing. Because otherwise
there *will* be problems.


>
>> And that whole shebang is just not worth it. If someone wants a full ARC
>> language then simply don't use Object Pascal.
>>
>
> What’s the appeal to new programmers with this attitude? FPC already has
> ARC on a few types so it stands out the classes are excluded. They don’t
> care about backwards compatibility of course. New programers will look at
> this and go for the full ARC language which is easier or go to C/C++ if
> they want performance and lots of libraries/resources.
>

New users might not care about backwards compatibility, but existing ones
do. We are not helping us if we scare away many existing users to get a few
new ones. If they want ARC/GC or high performance then those users should
simply go somewhere. One can't cater to everyone and thus we should stick
with what made Pascal strong, not chasing after some dreams.

Regards,
Sven

>
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