What's the best alternative to C++ for real-ti

Question

C++ just sucks too much of my time by making me micro-manage my own memory, making me type far too much (hello std::vector<Thingy>::const_iterator it = lotsOfThingys.begin()), and boring me with long compile times. What's the single best alternative for serious real-time graphics programming? Garbage collection is a must (as is the ability to avoid its use when necessary), and speed must be competitive with C++. A reasonable story for accessing C libs is also a must.

(Full disclosure: I have my own answer to this, but I'm interested to see what others have found to be good alternatives to C++ for real-time graphics work.)

Edit: Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. Given that there's really no "right" answer to this question I won't be selecting any particular answer. Besides I'd just pick the language I happen to like as a C++ alternative, which wouldn't really be fair.

Answer 1

If your target is a PC, I think you can try C#, or embed Lua in your C++ app and run scripts for 'high-level' stuff. However if your target is a console, you must manage your own memory!

Answer 2

There are no true alternatives for big AAA titles, especially on the consoles. For smaller titles C# should do.

Answer 3

Have a look to Delphi/Pascal Object and some exemples : http://www.delphigamer.com or http://glscene.cjb.net/

Answer 4

Sometimes, looking outside the beaten path you can find a real gem. You might want to consider PureBasic (Don't let the name mislead you). Here's some details:

PureBasic Features

• Machine Code (Assembly) executables (FASM)
  • In-line Assembly support
  • No run-times needed (no DLLs needed,etc.) 1 executable file
  • Tiny executables (as small or smaller/as fast or faster than C++ w/out the runtime)
  • You can write DLLs
  • Multi-thread support
  • Full OS API support
• Multi-platform support
  • Windows 95-2003
  • Linux
  • Mac-OS X
  • Amiga
• 2D & 3D game development
  • DirectX
  • OGRE
• Generous Licensing
  • Inexpensive (79 Euros or about $112)
  • Life-time license (all future updates & versions included)
  • One price for all platforms
• External Library support
  • 3rd party DLLs
  • User Libraries
• On-line Support
  • Responsive development team led by it's creator
  • On-line forum
    • One place for answers (don’t have to go all over the net)
    • Huge amount of sample code (try code out while in IE with IEtool)
    • Fast replies to questions
• Bonus learning (alternative to learning C++)
  • API
  • Structures
  • Interfaces
  • Pointers

Visit the online forum to get a better idea of PureBasic (http://www.purebasic.fr/english/index.php) or the main site: www.purebasic.com

Answer 5

Java and LWJGL (OpenGL wrapper) has worked well for me. If you're looking for more of a scene graph type library like Orge have a look at jMonkeyEngine which we used to create a google earth type application (see www.skapeworld.com). If you're sensible with object creation the garbage collection is a non issue.

Answer 6

Perhaps a hybrid approach. Python and C++ make a good combination (see, for example, PyGame).