I just read over the spec and I'm *very* excited about D.  I'm a Java programmer (no, not applets, but real heavy duty enterprise stuff), and have gone from being a skeptic to being extremely impressed with Java. The performance hit is *well* worth the portability, the ease of debugging and creating "correct" programs, and of course the vast (and very well designed) core library.  I have always wanted a native Java-like language, and wondered why nobody really was interested in making a native Java compiler (ok, there are a few here and there), because the language itself is really nice.  I now see that D fulfills this.  It takes all the backwards compatibility and bizarre cruft out of C++, and marries it with features of Java that aid and simplify programming and debugging.  Most of the D spec is a litany of Java features - garbage collection, single inheritence, interfaces, compilation unit based name spaces...the keywords and terminology are also mostly identical.  D does add a feature that I've admired in Object Pascal, which is "properties" (although it does it in a different way), which is also a nice way to skirt non-first class, or half-class objects (arrays, etc.).  I was waiting for something to fill the gap between C++ and Java, and D appears to do this beautifully.  I'm convinced that most of the Java library can even be implemented quite nicely for D (the syntax is *so* similary Java-to-D ports should be really straightforward).  (I happen to think that the Java class library does "simply and efficiently implement common, basic file I/O operations."...it's very much like the C++ library in terms of classes hierarchy).

So when does the compiler come out ;)

Aaron Hamid
Cornell University

Aaron wrote in message <3B865A5B.FC094575@cornell.edu>...
>I just read over the spec and I'm *very* excited about D.  I'm a Java programmer (no, not applets, but real heavy duty enterprise stuff), and have gone from being a skeptic to being extremely impressed with Java. The performance hit is *well* worth the portability,

One of my design goals for D is not to have a performance hit.

> the ease of
>debugging and creating "correct" programs,

Yes!

> and of course the vast (and
>very well designed) core library.

That will be a problem with D, at least initially.

>  I have always wanted a native
>Java-like language,
> and wondered why nobody really was interested in
>making a native Java compiler (ok, there are a few here and there), because the language itself is really nice.  I now see that D fulfills this.  It takes all the backwards compatibility and bizarre cruft out of C++, and marries it with features of Java that aid and simplify programming and debugging.  Most of the D spec is a litany of Java features - garbage collection, single inheritence, interfaces, compilation unit based name spaces...the keywords and terminology are also mostly identical.  D does add a feature that I've admired in Object Pascal, which is "properties" (although it does it in a different way), which is also a nice way to skirt non-first class, or half-class objects (arrays, etc.).  I was waiting for something to fill the gap between C++ and Java, and D appears to do this beautifully.  I'm convinced that most of the Java library can even be implemented quite nicely for D (the syntax is *so* similary Java-to-D ports should be really straightforward).  (I happen to think that the Java class library does "simply and efficiently implement common, basic file I/O operations."...it's very much like the C++ library in terms of classes hierarchy).

I think D has a lot to offer that Java doesn't have. See the FAQ:

    www.digitalmars.com/d/faq.html#q7

"Walter" <walter@digitalmars.com> wrote in message news:9m5t27$21n4$3@digitaldaemon.com...
>
> Aaron wrote in message <3B865A5B.FC094575@cornell.edu>...
> >I just read over the spec and I'm *very* excited about D.  I'm a Java programmer (no, not applets, but real heavy duty enterprise stuff), and have gone from being a skeptic to being extremely impressed with Java. The performance hit is *well* worth the portability,
>
> One of my design goals for D is not to have a performance hit.
>
> > the ease of
> >debugging and creating "correct" programs,
>
> Yes!

Without enforcing exception specification, there will be one important area in which D has *less* power than Java to create correct programs.

Peter.