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KaVir · 03-19-2003, 12:32 PM

I would say that most people do not choose their language - they choose their codebase, and then just use whichever language it is written in (generally C).

However C is a very powerful and flexible language. All seven team members of the mud I'm working on have used it before, with five having done so professionally. Four of the team members have also previously written their own codebases from scratch, in C, so there was very little learning curve there.

Only three of the team members know how to program in C++ - but have used it professionally, and it's not very difficult to understand for someone already familiar with C. It also allows us to encapsulate and use previously written C code (such as some of the standalone snippets I've written in the past), which saves some time.

The primary reason we chose C++ over C was because we required inheritence and polymorphism, which isn't very clean to implement in C.

Only one team member knows how to program in Java, having used it for hobby programming. I'm not sure about other languages, but my own are very rusty, as I've not used anything other than C and C++ for a very long time.

As well as familiarity with the language itself, we have knowledge of various tools which make development in C and C++ easier. We also have the usual collection of books which developers tend to gather over time. In the case of mud-specific languages such as LPC and ColdC, as far as I know there aren't any books, nor is there much support in general.

In addition, as I pointed out before, five of us develop software professionally (using a mixture of C and C++). Developing a mud is a learning process, and experimentation is probably one of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of a language. Having a programming language on your CV/resume is always useful, but most companies aren't interested unless you've used it professionally - however, if you do use it professionally, they're still going to test your skills before offering you a job. When I applied for my second job (back in 1999) I had "C" on my CV, but I doubt I would have got through the technical interview without the knowledge I'd gained from four and a half years of mud development.

So in summary:

* There is very little learning curve for us.

* There is no need for us to purchase new books.

* There is no need for us to download and learn new tools.

* We can easily reuse some of our existing code.

* We gain valuable directly-relevent "real world" skills.

* Less of a resource hog means cheaper mud hosting.

* No licensing restrictions.

But most importantly of all:

* C++ provides exactly what we need in the way of features.

So, taking the other points into consideration, why use something else?

03-19-2003, 12:32 PM	#6
KaVir Legend Join Date: Apr 2002 Name: Richard Home MUD: God Wars II Posts: 2,052	I would say that most people do not choose their language - they choose their codebase, and then just use whichever language it is written in (generally C). However C is a very powerful and flexible language. All seven team members of the mud I'm working on have used it before, with five having done so professionally. Four of the team members have also previously written their own codebases from scratch, in C, so there was very little learning curve there. Only three of the team members know how to program in C++ - but have used it professionally, and it's not very difficult to understand for someone already familiar with C. It also allows us to encapsulate and use previously written C code (such as some of the standalone snippets I've written in the past), which saves some time. The primary reason we chose C++ over C was because we required inheritence and polymorphism, which isn't very clean to implement in C. Only one team member knows how to program in Java, having used it for hobby programming. I'm not sure about other languages, but my own are very rusty, as I've not used anything other than C and C++ for a very long time. As well as familiarity with the language itself, we have knowledge of various tools which make development in C and C++ easier. We also have the usual collection of books which developers tend to gather over time. In the case of mud-specific languages such as LPC and ColdC, as far as I know there aren't any books, nor is there much support in general. In addition, as I pointed out before, five of us develop software professionally (using a mixture of C and C++). Developing a mud is a learning process, and experimentation is probably one of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of a language. Having a programming language on your CV/resume is always useful, but most companies aren't interested unless you've used it professionally - however, if you do use it professionally, they're still going to test your skills before offering you a job. When I applied for my second job (back in 1999) I had "C" on my CV, but I doubt I would have got through the technical interview without the knowledge I'd gained from four and a half years of mud development. So in summary: * There is very little learning curve for us. * There is no need for us to purchase new books. * There is no need for us to download and learn new tools. * We can easily reuse some of our existing code. * We gain valuable directly-relevent "real world" skills. * Less of a resource hog means cheaper mud hosting. * No licensing restrictions. But most importantly of all: * C++ provides exactly what we need in the way of features. So, taking the other points into consideration, why use something else?