[TillE]

Honestly, it seems like the people who complain loudest about C++ have barely used it. C++11 is fantastic. C++14 and beyond are quite exciting as well.

I'd avoid Alexandrescu-style template trickery unless you really truly need it, though. You can write good C++ that more or less resembles Java, and that's fine.

[pfultz2]

> You can write good C++ that more or less resembles Java

That doesn't sound like good C++. Making everything a pointer or implementing polymorphism through pointers makes the code harder to reason about, and makes tighter coupling between interfaces and implementations.