This must have something to do with why I like the work work I've done so far in Java and don't much like C++. Just an opinion...

I know that sometimes the fact that you can do something that isn't really good design practice allows for a faster and more powerful implementation (see VFP - loose typecasting, macro substitution, etc.). That being said, I think there are more benefits to staying within a more rigid set of requirements that are well designed and enforce stability than the opposite. You can write class libraries with a million external dependencies that will come together quick and will work, but have fun tracking down errors and maintaining revisions to your application. C++ memory leaks are a prime example of this and the main reason I never much liked it. Java, while having some obvious shortcomings of it's own, practically forces OOP design to the n-th degree. My experience in Java has been that when I build something and it works once, it always seems to work. Same for MOST well designed Fox stuff. Can't say the same about C++ myself. Of course, that may be because I don;t have extensive experience with it...

Generally I don't want to have to think about things like reference counting and garbage collection - they are to me fundamental features that I would like not to have to deal with every time I create an object. I prefer my language of choice to take care of them in a consistent and stable manner. Then again, define consistent and stable, I guess...

Eric Shaneson
Cutting Edge Consulting

>>I think reference counting is a HUGE plus and fairly mandatory to a good OOP language. I don't know how you would get by without it.
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>Well, the C++ world manages to muddle along. :)
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>That said, you obviously have to be quite careful to avoid memory leaks in C++. Garbage collection is a frequently asked for feature (and explains much of the popularity of Java). Some programmers simply manage reference counting on their own (I believe the Standard C++ Library string class uses reference counting to avoid unnecessay copying).
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>But you _can_ get by without it. And if you can, your app will be faster, as a result.