C++ is not just C++ but also the C preprocessor, the STL, the linker, the C libraries and SDKs you can't help but depend on, the build system, the build scripts, the package manager, the IDEs and IDE add-ons, the various quirks on various platforms, etc. That's on top of knowing the code base of your application.

Being really good at C++ almost demands that you surrender entire lobes of your brain to mastering the language. It is too demanding and too dehumanizing. Developers need a language and a complete tool chain that is designed as a cohesive whole, with as little implicit behavior, special cases and clever tricks as possible. Simple and straight-forward. Performance tweaks, memory optimizations and anything else that is not straightforward should be done exclusively by the compiler. I.E. we should be leveraging computers to do what they do best, freeing our attention so we can focus on the next nifty feature we're adding.

Zig is trying to do much of this, and it is a huge undertaking. I think an even bigger undertaking than what Zig is attempting is needed. The new "language" would also include a sophisticated IDE/compiler/static-analyzer/AI-advisor/Unit-Test-Generator that could detect and block the vast majority of memory safety errors, data races and other difficult bugs, and reveal such issues as the code is being written. The tool chain would be sophisticated enough to handle the cognitive load rather than force the developer to bear that burden.