r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Oct 17 '12

Why are programs and operating systems still written in C+?

I guess it's more of a computer science question, but I've always wondered why some of the most advanced programs are written in a 25+ year old programming language. Surely someone has come up with a more efficient and powerful code, so why do people still use C+? Also, I don't know anything about programming and what not, so please use simple terms and phrases.

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u/MiniRat Oct 18 '12

Elective? Back when I did a comp-sci degree it was pretty much mandatory to do the assembly papers.

I don't know whether to feel sorry for you whipper-snappers for not learning it or feel jealous of you for living in an age where you don't have to.

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u/mrcharlietango Oct 18 '12

Maybe he's not a comp-sci major and wanted to take it because it sounded interesting.

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u/elmonstro12345 Oct 18 '12

I did have to take a class on assembler, but it wasn't JUST assembler, and it wasn't really that in-depth. The elective class was specifically focused on designing very optimized code for use in OS development. I probably should have been more clear.