C++ is a Centipede: you will fail to walk if you try to control all foots

Why C++ is an awful language for educational purposes.

One day, a centipede was running fast down the road, impressing a wobbly little kitten that had just learned to walk.

“Amazing, Brother Centipede!” the kitten exclaimed. “I can barely manage my four legs without tripping, but you have 200 legs and still run so fast! How do you do it?”

The centipede replied, “Oh, it’s simple! You see, first, you lift this leg, then you lift this leg…”

Finally, the centipede lost his ability to walk.

Okay, this is just a joke. But it tells us an important philosophy: too many feet may not be good for running. In the domain of programming language, features are the feet.

• Languages like Python and Lua, which are scripting languages, have the least “feet.” We only need to understand variables, functions, and control statements like sequencing, conditionals, and loops, and we can start writing useful scripts.
• Languages like Java and Go have more “feet” because we also need to learn basic data types and object-oriented concepts.
• When we get to C, we need to understand pointers and gain a deeper understanding of operating system…