Sobotka: Why GIMP is inadequate

Yes, C++ is much terse. But that's because there's so much implicitly going on. C has simpler constructs, so what looks like an operator *is* actually an operator and nothing else. That makes the casual contributor life so much easier.

Agreed, C++ makes it possible to write _new_ code that's easy on the eyes, but it's complex for newcomers. Specially in large codebases. There's so much you need to perfectly understand before you can grasp a nontrivial hunk of C++ code.

Also, C++ is so full of subtleties that you can miss when reading code...

My experience is that C++ is wonderful if you are the only one, or an small team, or have very good documentation of the class hierarchy and how *everything* fits together.