Walter wrote:
> Back in '85 or '86, ObjC and C++ were neck-and-neck as enhancements to C
> (judging by the volume of messages in their respective newsgroups). At the
> time, only one implementation of each existed. There was, as I recall, a lot
> of arguing about which was better.
> 
> But there was one crucial difference. AT&T was happy to let anyone build a
> C++ compiler without getting a license from AT&T (yes, I wrote AT&T's
> lawyers asking, and they said fine, go right ahead!). To do an ObjC clone,
> you had to get a license from Stepstone, which cost real money.
> 
> So, I built a C++ compiler (the first native C++ compiler). We made it
> available inexpensively on the PC, and advertised that our intention was to
> be 100% AT&T compatible. We shipped a huge number of compilers, and that
> achieved the critical mass for C++ to gain ascendancy.

So D could be viewed as an attempt to atone for the damage that you've done in the past :)

Evan