[As an aside, when I attempted to compile Wai Dei's crypto lib 2.0 with the Symantec Project Manager C++ compilers, none of the 3 would compile it. The one which generated the fewest errors had "internal error" on two modules. This problem occurs because C++ is such a large language, with a number of obscure features which compiler writers don't always handle. In addition, C++ is in no way machine independent. The simplest example is that sizeof(int) is machine dependent.]
It's true that C++ is large and has many features, some obscure. But the fact is most of those features are actually very useful. I suspect many experienced C++ programmers do not like Java even though Java looks a lot like C++ because they are so used to having those features in C++. Take a look at Victor's earlier post on this subject. Portability is certainly one of the big problems of C++. But it can be done and should become easier in the future as the compilers standarize. If anyone has trouble compiling Crypto++, please send me a report so I can help you figure out workarounds. Also, send bug reports to the compiler company if you think there are bugs in the compiler. Wei Dai