c++ and Linux go together - why are there no questions in this section?

Question

C is the programming language Linux was originally written in. I learned C many years ago, but haven't used it since college. (I'm an EE degree, computers were necessary, but programming was left primarily to the programmers).

Now, due to recent job requirements I am learning (and using) C++ specifically in the Linux environment - which isn't QUITE the same as using it in Windows.

Why are there no questions in the c++ section of unix stackexchange, and why, nearly immediately after asking a valid question, is my question almost immediately deleted?

I find it strange at best that the community wouldn't support questions concerning the very language that the OS evolved in.

Answer 1

First, Unix & Linux is primary for users and administrators of Unix and Linux systems, not programmers of them. Programming questions, which almost all C++ questions would be, belong on Stack Overflow.

Second, we deal in questions which have reasonably objective correct answers. Through experience, we've learned that the Stack Exchange software & community just doesn't work well with questions that are mainly opinion-based, like "what's your favorite editor". Which is basically what you asked, and is why your question was closed & deleted.

If you are looking for an IDE with a specific list of features, then that is an answerable question if it were asked on our Software Recommendations site. Please refer to the help center there, in particular https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic, before asking.

Answer 2

This is basically a question of scope. Your question wouldn't be on topic anywhere on the Stack Exchange network. These are strictly Q&A sites and they all consider discussion off topic by definition. Specifically, your question was asking:

Is there anyone out there commercially writing code in C++ using an IDE in Linux, that can recommend a particular one? Reasons why the one you use is better than others? etc. Intuitive and easy to learn is a bonus.

I'm not asking for "I like this one better". That is subjective.

What I need are specifics - how seamlessly the IDE you use works in Linux, what special capabilities and features it has that would make programming easier, less time consuming. I am looking for specific things that set the IDE you use apart from other similar IDE's.

While that last paragraph (which was added after the question was closed) makes an attempt at making it less of an opinion based question, you're still asking other people for their experience. If you were listing a set of specific features you would like your IDE to have, that might be on topic. As it is, you are asking people to tell you what they use why they like and what's so cool about it. This is a great discussion for chat or for any number of forums (or fora, if you prefer) out there. It's just not a valid question for a Stack Exchange site.

As for the community supporting the language the OS was coded in, none of the operating systems on topic here are written in C++. Or, rather, none of the main ones. I won't swear that there isn't any *nix system out there written in C++ but the most popular ones are all written in plain old C.

In any case, no matter what language the software was written in, programming is off topic here. The closest we get to programming questions is simple scripts to parse text, manipulate files and other sysadmin-type jobs. Questions about the workings of any language are off topic.

So, even if your question were actually valid for SE and had a single valid answer as opposed to being the seed of an interesting discussion, even then, questions about C would be off topic here. If you need help on installing the IDE of your choice, this is the place to ask. Not so for choosing one though.