C++ vs Crystal: What are the differences?

# Introduction

1. **Memory Management**: One key difference between C++ and Crystal is the manual memory management in C++ compared to the automatic memory management in Crystal. In C++, developers need to handle memory allocation and deallocation explicitly using functions like new and delete, while Crystal handles memory management automatically with its built-in garbage collector.
   
2. **Type System**: Another difference is in the type system used by C++ and Crystal. C++ is a statically typed language, where data types are explicitly declared at compile time and strict type checking is enforced. On the other hand, Crystal is a statically and strongly typed language, offering type inference to reduce the need for explicit type declarations while still providing strong type safety at compile time.

3. **Concurrency**: C++ and Crystal also differ in their approaches to concurrency. In C++, developers typically use multi-threading with libraries like pthreads to achieve parallelism, which can lead to complex synchronization issues. Crystal, on the other hand, uses lightweight green threads managed by the language runtime, providing easier and safer concurrency with minimal developer intervention.

4. **Syntax and Expressiveness**: In terms of syntax and expressiveness, C++ and Crystal exhibit differences as well. C++ has a more verbose syntax with complex features like pointers and manual memory management that can lead to code clutter and potential bugs. Crystal, on the other hand, features a more concise and expressive syntax with modern language constructs that make writing code more readable and maintainable.

5. **Error Handling**: Another significant difference between C++ and Crystal is in their error handling mechanisms. C++ relies on exceptions for error handling, which can lead to overhead and performance implications if not used carefully. In contrast, Crystal uses a combination of return values and built-in error types for error handling, leading to more predictable and efficient error management in the codebase.

6. **Community and Ecosystem**: The final key difference lies in the community and ecosystem surrounding C++ and Crystal. C++ has a long-established community and extensive ecosystem with a plethora of libraries and tools available for developers. Crystal, being a newer language, has a smaller but growing community with a more focused ecosystem, offering modern web development tools and frameworks for building scalable applications.

In Summary, C++ and Crystal differ in terms of memory management, type system, concurrency, syntax and expressiveness, error handling, and community ecosystem.