# C++ not used for applications any more? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639 "2007-04-18T16:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/41 "2007-04-20T07:01:35Z")
Quite, Delphi is very powerful - also VB, not the stuff called [VB.NET](http://VB.NET), can be used for a lot more than people think - once you can get at Windows APIs there is not much holding you back I suppose it all depends on the type of App, things designed for the home market are unlikely to use the .NET framework. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/42 "2007-04-20T07:19:44Z")
[QUOTE=groman] _cough_Delphi_cough_ And besides that, if you’re accessing raw APIs how is C++ any better than Python, Perl, C, Pascal or even Fortran at allowing you to create professional looking windows? [/QUOTE] Not my fault that API’s tend to be linked to a particular language even though others can access it. _shrugs_ ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/43 "2007-04-20T10:05:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] Not my fault that API’s tend to be linked to a particular language even though others can access it. _shrugs_ [/QUOTE] Well the convention is StdCall and the packing is .. I forget what .. which is not really linked to C, I suppose the Windows designers did not want to risk Caller Cleanup which could hide problems for years. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/44 "2007-04-20T11:11:23Z")
Agreed Delphi is powerful - and for those like me who preferred the interface but wanted C++, CBuilder is a great tool too. We do 90% of our development in it. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/45 "2007-04-20T12:10:58Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] Agreed Delphi is powerful - and for those like me who preferred the interface but wanted C++, CBuilder is a great tool too. We do 90% of our development in it. [/QUOTE] For obscure reasons I loathe the C syntax, probably because I learnt ASM before reading K&R’s White Book Realistically a ‘language’ is an instruction set, with a load of library code bolted on. Borland (or as they are now, CodeGear) did a good job of hiding the grunt work, without making it hard to get at. I consider your path rational, although I would have used pure Delphi. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639/46 "2007-04-20T12:27:31Z")
[QUOTE=FRDE] For obscure reasons I loathe the C syntax, probably because I learnt ASM before reading K&R’s White Book Realistically a ‘language’ is an instruction set, with a load of library code bolted on. Borland (or as they are now, CodeGear) did a good job of hiding the grunt work, without making it hard to get at. I consider your path rational, although I would have used pure Delphi. [/QUOTE] I learned C as my first language and C++ not long after. I tried to learn Delphi and I found it frustrating in as much as it was close enough to what I knew to be able to read it, but required that I look up nearly everything to program in it. And of course, the shop I was in had (what I considered to be) some horrible programming practices, making the code that much more difficult for me. What I love about it though is it is blazingly fast to compile - much faster than C++. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-not-used-for-applications-any-more/400639.md?page=2)