Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderThe bullet list near the end closely matches my own experience with C++. There's an inordinate number of features creating an even worse profusion of edge cases where they interact. Then the "solutions" for those edge cases usually add even more complexity. Worse, they force programmers to coddle their compilers. The ratio between what a C++ compiler will accept and what it will produce sane code for is huge. That's why every C++ codebase I've ever seen is full of…
A lot of the nominal complexity of C++ is the result of the very precise control it offers over software behavior. In many programming languages this level of control is not even expressible. That extra level of control only seems like unnecessary complexity until you are designing software systems that require this level of control. At a minimum, precise control of memory management is absolutely essential for things like servers and database engines if performance matters at all. That the…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 279
- Total comments
- 362
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-23 | C++ and the Culture of ComplexityFirst breakout | thebear | 66 | 83 |
| 2018-01-16 | C++ and the Culture of Complexity | rimher | 2 | 0 |
| 2018-01-31 | C++ and the Culture of Complexity (2013)Best thread · Latest 20+ point return | contrarian_ | 211 | 279 |