C, please die, and take Go with you - Re: Fwd: is there any word processing software for the pdp11?

[Eric Smith]

On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 10:23 AM, Ian S. King <isking at uw.edu> wrote:
> I'm not sure why some people insist on bashing C because it can be
> misused/abused.  C is a tool for when you need to touch the metal.  It's
> just not what anyone should use to write applications.

That's exactly the point. C (and C++) are widely used where they are
inappropriate.

Also C does not have any monopoly on being able to "touch the bare
metal", nor is strong typing necessarily an impediment to doing so.
Ada, despite being a "bondage and discipine" language, actually had as
one of its design requirements the ability to deal with bare metal.