On: How can C Programs be so Reliable?

[eru]

> The only low-level language that has any innate claim to reliability is C++ with proper use of the RAII idiom.

Or rather a very carefully chosen subset of C++. See http://yosefk.com/c++fqa/exceptions.html#fqa-17.3 for some of the problems.

By the way, what about ADA?

[cageface → eru]

I have to admit a total ignorance of ADA. In domains where it's appropriate it may be a good choice. It's certainly a niche language compared to C/C++ though.

I think some of Yosef's advice on C++ is out of date WRT to the C++11 standard too. shared_ptr is now the recommended smart pointer, for instance.

[tomjen3 → eru]

Ada is typically less well known and not used a lot, but if you want reliable code, it is pretty nice.

Be aware that it is a b&d language.

[eru → tomjen3]

I usually use Haskell at work, which is even more b&d in a sense and it's pretty reliable. But you can not call Haskell low-level.

[absconditus → tomjen3]

PL/SQL is similar to Ada in many ways.