C++ as "the revision of C"

[Richard Stallman]

    Although things can and do change, the "pragmatic reality" of the moment
    is that if you want C to be change, it seems that C++ is the means whereby
    that can be done in the formal standards community.

If the goal is to add a few clean improvements to C, C++ is only a
little better as a starting point than Modula-N or ADA.  The C++ user
community seems to insist firmly that C++ is a completely distinct
language from C, by which they mean that compatibility with C is not a
goal.  Starting with C++ means accepting numerous other changes in the
bargain, including a few examples of egregiously poor design.