Interview with Dennis Ritchie, Bjarne Stroustrup, James Gosling
The C family of languages–C, C++, and Java–has dominated commercial programming for over 30 years. Today, all three languages are at a turning point:
The second ISO/ANSI C standard has just been published (C99 was officially released in December 1999). C continues to be one of the most influential languages in the world, particularly in the field of embedded systems.
The first official update to the ISO/ANSI C++ standard will be completed in October 2000. C++ is one of the most widely used commercial programming languages in the world, with unparalleled support for both object-oriented and generic programming, and continues to experience steady growth.
Java popularity continues to grow in various areas, from client-side to server-side programming. Sun has recently decided that Java can best flourish as a de facto standard, instead of as a formal ISO/ANSI or ECMA standard, and has abandoned formal standardization efforts.
What has made the C family of languages so dominant? What can we expect to see in the near future in these and related languages? This landmark “state of the union” interview, published simultaneously this month in both C++ Report and Java Report, brings together three legends who hardly need any introduction: Dennis Ritchie, Bjarne Stroustrup, and James Gosling, the creators of C, C++, and Java.