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

[Martin Frb]

On 19/10/2024 14:57, Hairy Pixels via fpc-pascal wrote:
> On Oct 19, 2024 at 7:53:14 PM, Rainer Stratmann via fpc-pascal 
> <fpc-pascal at lists.freepascal.org> wrote:
>> I feel very safe with freepascal. I don't know what you are talking 
>> about.
>> It depends on the programmer who is in front of the computer.
>
> We’re talking about new users and programmers that don’t have 25 years 
> of experience with manual memory management. All news languages have 
> some form of non-manual memory management where you don’t have to 
> worry about memory leaks and double-frees etc.. leaving Pascal behind. 
> That’s all I’m saying.
>
NOTE: the below is NOT about ARC. It is about the implication that ARC 
== Safety (in the environment that we have)
----------

But if you are talking about memory safety for new users, the ARC is a 
drop in the ocean. Sure it might catch some cases...

And, if you add that every variable needs to be initialized safely by 
the compiler, then it catches yet a few more. And at the same time you 
yet again make the compiler less useful for other projects, that are 
better off without this. So you don't gain users, you just change which 
users you have...

But, also it still isn't save. You can still do
   MyObj := TFooClass(Other.Tag);

And since examples exists, new users will do...
And then, it still goes wrong.

So remove all pointers, all typecasts, all ....
If you remove all typecasts, then why have types?

Only then we have an entirely new language...

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