"issues that, in 2021, effectively only C and C++ have"
"I'm not sure I can think of any other languages with «pointer arithmetic». Almost nobody else is using NULL-terminated strings. And so on and so on."
The thing is, at least a while ago, these were features that got C and C++ chosen for, precisely because they enable someone to go do things quick and dirty (mostly for "quick", with "dirty" only as an assumed consequence, but I've also seen both C and C++ for "dirty" alone plenty of times). We had safer languages (the one named after lovely Mrs. Lovelace, for instance), yet those options simply could not persuade the people that like it raw. Now we clearly have a stronger techno-political pressure lobbying for wearing straighter jackets, so at least it's interesting to watch.
"I'm not sure I can think of any other languages with «pointer arithmetic». Almost nobody else is using NULL-terminated strings. And so on and so on."
The thing is, at least a while ago, these were features that got C and C++ chosen for, precisely because they enable someone to go do things quick and dirty (mostly for "quick", with "dirty" only as an assumed consequence, but I've also seen both C and C++ for "dirty" alone plenty of times). We had safer languages (the one named after lovely Mrs. Lovelace, for instance), yet those options simply could not persuade the people that like it raw. Now we clearly have a stronger techno-political pressure lobbying for wearing straighter jackets, so at least it's interesting to watch.