C++ isn't the first language to do things, but was/is often the first mainstream language to do things.

And then people complain about C++ for doing it wrong, or its complexity, and show language 'X' that does it better/right, but only because they saw C++ do it first, and 'not quite right'.

I expect contracts to be similar - other languages will watch, learn, and do version two, and then complain about c++, etc.

It took 'quite a while' to get rid of auto_ptr, for example.

If it wasn't for the fact this is a language feature, it would be better off in boost where it can be tested in the wild.