Yes, by that criteria C++ was successful over C. And C was successful over fortran. There are small communities that prefer the older stuff, but they were better enough to move the entire industry.
D isn't, and neither is Rust.
> I meant that D could have been in the position of Rust today if done right.
My point was Rust is just a completely different audience. I suppose D could have sold itself as a better JavaScript.
I think you're correct for D, but for Rust, we'll see. It's a very slow moving industry. I do C++ work all day (embedded) and while there's no current plans to move to Rust (which means it won't happen within the next 3-5 years), I could see it occurring someday.
We're finally (usually) allowed to use C++17. I had to use C++03 at times circa 2019 - we're finally done with that. It's _really_ slow moving.
D isn't, and neither is Rust.
> I meant that D could have been in the position of Rust today if done right.
My point was Rust is just a completely different audience. I suppose D could have sold itself as a better JavaScript.
(Sorry for several rewrites.)