C++'s STL fixes this with for_each, transform, and accumulate. All three are looping constructs over a range, but each one has well-defined termination and meaning. For example if I want to visit each element once, I'd use
for_each(begin(container), end(container), some_action);
If I want to mutate it,
transform(begin(container), end(container), begin(destination), some_transforming_action);
and if I want to collapse it down into a scalar,
some_type result = accumulate(begin(container), end(container), initial_value, some_operation);
If you squint at it enough it almost looks like a declarative language, and the compiler is usually smart enough to inline those function calls!
You can simulate inheritance in C: just store an instance of the parent struct in the derived struct, and you can access inherited members via self->parent->method( );
Similarily for polymorphism: just cast it to a pointer to the base struct. If you lay your struct out nicely memory-wise this should be a safe operation.
If you can write it in assembly you can write it in C. And all that fancy C++ stuff has to eventually make its way down to ASM at some point.
If you have ssh access to the laptops then use clusterssh. It's a simple program that takes your keystrokes and sends them to all of the machines you're connected to. So doing an
# aptitude update
# aptitude safe-upgrade
on 30 machines is no harder than doing it to one.
For a start, how the hell do you even get a CS degree without doing any interfaces?
Easy: by studying real Computer Science.
If you can't type very fast you'll never be a very productive programmer.
I'm not a very fast typer but I'm a very productive programmer. Maybe it's because I do more thinking than banging my keyboard
"If you want to know what happens to you when you die, go look at some dead stuff." -- Dave Enyeart