C++ vs Haskell

Overview

C++

Stacks18.2K

Followers9.4K

Votes866

Haskell

Stacks1.4K

Followers1.2K

Votes527

C++ vs Haskell: What are the differences?

Differences between C++ and Haskell

C++ and Haskell are two popular programming languages that have key differences in their approach to programming.

Syntax: C++ is a statically-typed language, whereas Haskell is a statically-typed language with type inference. In C++, the programmer needs to explicitly declare the types of variables, while Haskell can automatically infer types based on the code. This can make Haskell code more concise and easier to read.
Imperative vs Functional: C++ is an imperative language that focuses on step-by-step instructions for the computer to follow. It allows for mutable state and side effects. On the other hand, Haskell is a functional language that emphasizes the evaluation of expressions and the use of immutable data. Haskell avoids mutable state and side effects, which can lead to code that is easier to reason about and test.
Memory Management: C++ requires manual memory management, where the programmer needs to allocate and deallocate memory explicitly. This can lead to memory leaks and other issues if not handled correctly. In contrast, Haskell uses garbage collection to automatically manage memory, relieving the programmer from the burden of memory allocation and deallocation.
Concurrency: C++ provides low-level control over threads and explicit locking mechanisms for concurrency. This can make concurrent programming more complex and error-prone. In contrast, Haskell has built-in support for functional and declarative concurrency, using lightweight threads (known as "Haskell threads") and software transactional memory (STM). This makes concurrent programming in Haskell more expressive and less prone to errors.
Error Handling: C++ traditionally uses exceptions for error handling, where an exception is thrown and caught by the appropriate handler. However, this can lead to cumbersome and error-prone code. Haskell, on the other hand, utilizes the type system to enforce correct error handling. It uses monads, specifically the Maybe and Either types, to handle errors in a more concise and explicit manner.
Polymorphism: C++ supports both parametric polymorphism (templates) and ad-hoc polymorphism (function overloading). This allows for greater flexibility in writing generic code. Haskell also supports parametric polymorphism through type classes, which provide a way to define generic functions and abstract over different types. However, Haskell does not have ad-hoc polymorphism, which can limit the flexibility in some cases.

In summary, C++ is an imperative language with manual memory management and explicit concurrency control, while Haskell is a functional language with automatic memory management and built-in support for declarative concurrency. Haskell puts a strong emphasis on type safety and error handling, while C++ provides more flexibility through imperative features and ad-hoc polymorphism.

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Advice on C++, Haskell

Alexandre

Founder & Developper at Finance D

Jul 1, 2021

Decided

I had a goal to create the simplest accounting software for Mac and Windows to help small businesses in Canada.

This led me to a long 2 years of exploration of the best language that could provide these features:

Great overall productivity
International wide-spread usage for long-term sustainability and easy to find documentation
Versatility for creating websites and desktop softwares
Enjoyable developper experience
Ability to create good looking modern UIs
Job openings with this language

I tried Python, Java, C# and C++ without finding what I was looking for.

When I discovered Javascript, I really knew it was the right language to use. Thinking of this today makes me realize even more how great a decision this has been to learn, use and master Javascript. It has been a fun, challenging and productive road on which I am still satisfied.

Obviously, when I refer to Javascript, it is not without implying the vast ecosystem around it. For me, JS is a whole universe in which almost every imaginable tools exist. It's awesome - for real. Thanks to all the contributors which have made it possible.

To be even clearer about how intense I am with Javascript, let's just say that my first passion was music. Until, I find coding with Javascript! Yep, I know!

So in conclusion, I chose Javascript because it is versatile, enjoyable, widely used, productive for both desktop softwares and websites with ability to create modern great looking user interfaces (assuming HTML and CSS are involved) and finally there are job openings.

399k views399k

Comments

Timm

VP Of Engineering at Flexperto GmbH

Nov 10, 2020

Decided

We have a lot of experience in JavaScript, writing our services in NodeJS allows developers to transition to the back end without any friction, without having to learn a new language. There is also the option to write services in TypeScript, which adds an expressive type layer. The semi-shared ecosystem between front and back end is nice as well, though specifically NodeJS libraries sometimes suffer in quality, compared to other major languages.

As for why we didn't pick the other languages, most of it comes down to "personal preference" and historically grown code bases, but let's do some post-hoc deduction:

Go is a practical choice, reasonably easy to learn, but until we find performance issues with our NodeJS stack, there is simply no reason to switch. The benefits of using NodeJS so far outweigh those of picking Go. This might change in the future.

PHP is a language we're still using in big parts of our system, and are still sometimes writing new code in. Modern PHP has fixed some of its issues, and probably has the fastest development cycle time, but it suffers around modelling complex asynchronous tasks, and (on a personal note) lack of support for writing in a functional style.

We don't use Python, Elixir or Ruby, mostly because of personal preference and for historic reasons.

Rust, though I personally love and use it in my projects, would require us to specifically hire for that, as the learning curve is quite steep. Its web ecosystem is OK by now (see https://www.arewewebyet.org/), but in my opinion, it is still no where near that of the other web languages. In other words, we are not willing to pay the price for playing this innovation card.

Haskell, as with Rust, I personally adore, but is simply too esoteric for us. There are problem domains where it shines, ours is not one of them.

682k views682k

Comments

Rachel

Nov 24, 2020

Needs adviceon

JavaScript

Python

C++

Hi, I'm just starting to learn code, and I stumbled upon this website. I think I should learn JavaScript, Python, and C++ to begin with. I'm a quick learner so I am only worried about what would be more useful. Suppose my goal is to build an online clothing store or something. Then what languages would be best? I need advice. Please help me out. I'm 13 and just beginning and it's hard to understand when people use technical terms so please keep it simple. Thanks a lot.

292k views292k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

C++	Haskell
C++ compiles directly to a machine's native code, allowing it to be one of the fastest languages in the world, if optimized.	It is a general purpose language that can be used in any domain and use case, it is ideally suited for proprietary business logic and data analysis, fast prototyping and enhancing existing software environments with correct code, performance and scalability.
-	Statically typed; Purely functional; Type inference; Concurrent
Statistics
Stacks 18.2K	Stacks 1.4K
Followers 9.4K	Followers 1.2K
Votes 866	Votes 527
Pros & Cons
Pros 205 Performance 108 Control over memory allocation 99 Cross-platform 98 Fast 85 Object oriented Cons 8 Slow compilation 8 Unsafe 6 Fragile ABI 6 Over-complicated 5 No standard/mainstream dependency management	Pros 90 Purely-functional programming 66 Statically typed 59 Type-safe 39 Open source 38 Great community Cons 9 Too much distraction in language extensions 8 Error messages can be very confusing 5 Libraries have poor documentation 3 No good ABI 3 No best practices

What are some alternatives to C++, Haskell?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

Related Comparisons

C++ vs Haskell: What are the differences?

Differences between C++ and Haskell

C++ and Haskell are two popular programming languages that have key differences in their approach to programming.

Syntax: C++ is a statically-typed language, whereas Haskell is a statically-typed language with type inference. In C++, the programmer needs to explicitly declare the types of variables, while Haskell can automatically infer types based on the code. This can make Haskell code more concise and easier to read.
Imperative vs Functional: C++ is an imperative language that focuses on step-by-step instructions for the computer to follow. It allows for mutable state and side effects. On the other hand, Haskell is a functional language that emphasizes the evaluation of expressions and the use of immutable data. Haskell avoids mutable state and side effects, which can lead to code that is easier to reason about and test.
Memory Management: C++ requires manual memory management, where the programmer needs to allocate and deallocate memory explicitly. This can lead to memory leaks and other issues if not handled correctly. In contrast, Haskell uses garbage collection to automatically manage memory, relieving the programmer from the burden of memory allocation and deallocation.
Concurrency: C++ provides low-level control over threads and explicit locking mechanisms for concurrency. This can make concurrent programming more complex and error-prone. In contrast, Haskell has built-in support for functional and declarative concurrency, using lightweight threads (known as "Haskell threads") and software transactional memory (STM). This makes concurrent programming in Haskell more expressive and less prone to errors.
Error Handling: C++ traditionally uses exceptions for error handling, where an exception is thrown and caught by the appropriate handler. However, this can lead to cumbersome and error-prone code. Haskell, on the other hand, utilizes the type system to enforce correct error handling. It uses monads, specifically the Maybe and Either types, to handle errors in a more concise and explicit manner.
Polymorphism: C++ supports both parametric polymorphism (templates) and ad-hoc polymorphism (function overloading). This allows for greater flexibility in writing generic code. Haskell also supports parametric polymorphism through type classes, which provide a way to define generic functions and abstract over different types. However, Haskell does not have ad-hoc polymorphism, which can limit the flexibility in some cases.

C++ vs Haskell

Overview

C++ vs Haskell: What are the differences?