Re: COM, that works because MSFT can a) commit to an ABI for C++, b) they can stick to a subset of C++ that makes that easy enough. Similarly for OS X.
The point isn't to stay in a C-like world. The point is that it must be possible to specify an ABI, file formats, and so on, in the host language. Yes, we can use external IDLs (even user them as DSLs if you like). I know all about and have worked with quite a lot of them (e.g., ASN.1, XDR, and many many others). But when you get down to a certain level, a light-weight approach really pays off. For example, at the system call level, and for many sufficiently simple file formats and such. At a higher end in complexity, on the other hand, then ASN.1 and friends pay off instead, mostly in a) obtaining interoperability with implementations written in other languages, b) managing extensibility.
Another thing is that some of us think about how things work at many levels. It's nice to be able to think about an interface and accurately picture what goes on at a low layer. It's difficult to do that with HLLs. But HLLs can easily have features that allow fine-grained control of or exposure of low level details, and that's what I'm saying I want to have as an option.
The point isn't to stay in a C-like world. The point is that it must be possible to specify an ABI, file formats, and so on, in the host language. Yes, we can use external IDLs (even user them as DSLs if you like). I know all about and have worked with quite a lot of them (e.g., ASN.1, XDR, and many many others). But when you get down to a certain level, a light-weight approach really pays off. For example, at the system call level, and for many sufficiently simple file formats and such. At a higher end in complexity, on the other hand, then ASN.1 and friends pay off instead, mostly in a) obtaining interoperability with implementations written in other languages, b) managing extensibility.
Another thing is that some of us think about how things work at many levels. It's nice to be able to think about an interface and accurately picture what goes on at a low layer. It's difficult to do that with HLLs. But HLLs can easily have features that allow fine-grained control of or exposure of low level details, and that's what I'm saying I want to have as an option.