C++ difficulty

Question

Besides memory management, what other aspects of c++ make it a non-beginner language?

Answer 1

I think what really makes c++ a non-beginner language is it's lack of cohesion and the amount of time you spend fighting with the language syntax instead of learning programming concepts.

What I mean by that is; c++ has a ton of features and sometimes those features have a difficult syntax due to decisions made in other sections of the language. A good example is the syntax of pointer to member and method functions, which requires an odd looking syntax that other languages handle with ease. Some call c++ a frankenstein language and I can understand why.

Now don't get me wrong, I love c++, I use it all the time and it's my language of choice for many things but it can be hard.

The other point I made is that a lot of c++ is very explicit, which, although useful when you want to get down and dirty to optimize your code, gets in the way of learning valuable programming concepts that other languages can demonstrate with better ease. Things like learning Object Oriented Programming, concepts like SOLID and algorithms like quicksort are far easier to understand in languages like Javascript or Java without having to worry about the syntax and the explicit memory management.

In the end, I think c++ is awesome, but I think it is in no way a language that should be used to teach and learn valuable programming concepts.