> ...while discussing pointers and garbage collection and optimizing heap allocation

People still do that?

We still use 'if' and 'then', but higher level languages like Ruby and Python have eliminated pointers and their ilk from day-to-day discussion, relegating heap allocation discussion to the halls of specialized conferences, while many programmers go about their day-to-day activities skipping over the pain of garbage collection.

They may not win language shootout speed tests, but they remove a lot of programmer pain and help with how long it takes to write code.