I've done a number of projects that were web-oriented in C and C++ over the years, and they are by no means my primary language. It wasn't that bad, especially if you take the time to learn how to do string manipulation properly (which isn't really that hard).
Come to think of it, even though we consider C to be "low level", that's really only a temporary problem that solves itself the longer you work with it and the more you build with it. It's a site different issue than the opposite issue of Ruby and PHP, which will never be able to have quite the raw performance of C.
It's a bit like the difference between fast-food and gourmet. Yes, fast-food American burgers is probably easier than fast-food... French ratatouille. When you're employees are barely passed childhood and not particularly trained in the arts, you'll bet your business on the burger (RE: the similar bubbles in the gastro-pub market vis technologicalist startup). But a practitioner at the top their game will do wonderful things with either.
> It wasn't that bad, especially if you take the time to learn how to do string manipulation properly (which isn't really that hard).
It's hard in the way that counts: It's tedious and prone to precisely the kinds of errors humans make when a task is tedious. Worse, string manipulation is precisely where all of the potentially dangerous bugs can live in the average C program, especially if you're accepting data from untrusted sources.
> Come to think of it, even though we consider C to be "low level", that's really only a temporary problem that solves itself the longer you work with it and the more you build with it.
Aside from the fact you can say the same about assembly, this is another reason to disfavor C: Reinventing the wheel. Over and over again.
I say all this as someone who actually likes C, and even somewhat enjoys doing string processing in C. I even know about strstr(3), which never seems to get mentioned. The main thing I know, however, is that it isn't worth it unless you live in a contrived circumstance.
Yes, you can go really fast by strapping yourself to that rocket, and if you remove the helmet you'll reduce your weight and go even faster. Nobody's doubting you. However, very few people want to stand downrange of you.
Come to think of it, even though we consider C to be "low level", that's really only a temporary problem that solves itself the longer you work with it and the more you build with it. It's a site different issue than the opposite issue of Ruby and PHP, which will never be able to have quite the raw performance of C.
It's a bit like the difference between fast-food and gourmet. Yes, fast-food American burgers is probably easier than fast-food... French ratatouille. When you're employees are barely passed childhood and not particularly trained in the arts, you'll bet your business on the burger (RE: the similar bubbles in the gastro-pub market vis technologicalist startup). But a practitioner at the top their game will do wonderful things with either.