The informal session centered on the latest issues and innovations in C++ and was held right at the office of Orange & Bronze Software Labs Inc. in Makati.
Joel de Guzman is a consultant at BoostPro Computing since 2002 and has provided support and development services focused on the Boost libraries. BoostPro is dedicated to commercial support and development services for the Boost libraries and related software by delivering the power of advanced C++ through library development, support, and training.
Joel authored the Boost Spirit Parser Library, the Boost Fusion Library and the Boost Phoenix library, leveraging on more than 20 years of expertise on generic C++ cross platform libraries and frameworks. During the session, Joel focused on issues between C++ and Generic Programming.
"C++ is a multi-paradigm language. While C++ can do classic Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Modern C++ practitioners tend to move away from what we sometimes call 'Old School OOP'. The emphasis is now on the so called Generic Programming. This paradigm can be applied, with a twist, to classic OO patterns in a way that eliminates its biggest drawback: abstraction penalty. By combining GP and OOP, you get the best of both worlds minus the inherent limitations of OOP." Joel explained.
The other session speaker was Dean Michael Berris, a Software Architect by trade and Software Developer by heart with significant Systems Development experience using the C++
programming language. He had been developing solutions for the mobile content provider industry in the Philippines since 2004.
Dean is currently the Systems Architect at a subsidiary of SMART Telecoms, focused on developing and deploying mobile messaging and community solutions. Dean is also the maintainer of The C++ Network library (http://cpp-netlib.sourceforge.net/
Dean's speaking session focused on a very high level view of how one can come up with a library that is easy for developers to use in making HTTP requests from within C++ programs. "Modern C++, when used correctly, allows you to create expressive and powerful libraries. Its easier-to-use user and developer interfaces give you a means of providing a powerful experience, enabling you to build bigger things." Dean said.
Both speakers also highlighted the usability of C++ in the midst of new languages surfacing on the software programming niche. According to Joel, "Comparing C++ to new languages, especially the scripting/web variety, is like comparing an every day family car to a high-end sports car. The family car can surely get you easily and cheaply to the next grocery store, but there are times when you need that sheer speed. Bottom line: family cars has its place in this world, but so does a sports car. Use the right tool for the job."
In addition to C++'s high performance, utility, and overall expressiveness, session-speaker Dean also noted the language's flexibility in terms of adapting to new computing and programming approaches, "C++ fits very well into the software engineering world because of the mix of libraries and language features that allow for better utilization of these modern computer architectures. It allows programmers to come up with novel approaches to solve common and complex problems." He said.
Orange and Bronze's software engineers, architects, and developers drew new insights from the session, seeing how C++ can also be utilized on the company's projects using the language's modern-programming approach. At present, Orange & Bronze services a number of local and offshore clients who chose to outsource their IT requirements and other offshore software development initiatives to a third-party specialist.
