Innbundet

On Saturday, the ISO C++ committee completed its fourth meeting of C++26, held in St Louis, MO, USA. Our host, Bill Seymour, arranged for high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. We had over 180 attendees, about two-thirds in-person and the others remote via Zoom, formally representing over 20 nations. At each … Continue reading Trip report: Summer ISO C++ standards meeting (St...

Also in April, I was interviewed by Jordi Mon Companys for Software Engineering Daily, and that interview was just published on the SE Daily podcast. Here is a copy of the page’s additional details, including a transcript link at bottom. The U.S. government recently released a report calling on the technical community to proactively reduce … Continue reading Podcast: Interview with Software Engineering Daily →

Many thanks to ACCU for inviting me back again this April. It was my first time back to ACCU (and only my second trip to Europe) since the pandemic began, and it was a delight to see many ACCUers in person again for the first time in a few years. I gave this talk, which … Continue reading April talk video posted: “Safety, Security, Safety[sic] and C/C++[sic]” →

On Friday, I sat down with Kevin Carpenter to do a short (12-min) interview about my ACCU talk coming up on April 17, and other topics. Apologies in advance for my voice quality: I’ve been sick with some bug since just after the Tokyo ISO meeting, and right after this interview I lost my voice … Continue reading Pre-ACCU interview video is live →

With the winter ISO meeting behind us, it’s onward into spring conference season! ACCU Conference 2024. On April 17, I’ll be giving a talk on C++’s current and future evolution, where I plan to talk about safety based on my recent essay “C++ safety, in context,” and progress updates on cppfront. I’m also looking forward … Continue reading Effective Concurrency course & upcoming talks →

Moments ago, the ISO C++ committee completed its third meeting of C++26, held in Tokyo, Japan. Our hosts, Woven by Toyota, arranged for high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. We had over 220 attendees, about two-thirds in-person and the others remote via Zoom, formally representing 21 nations. That makes it roughly … Continue reading Trip report: Winter ISO C++ standards...

Scope. To talk about C++’s current safety problems and solutions well, I need to include the context of the broad landscape of security and safety threats facing all software. I chair the ISO C++ standards committee and I work for Microsoft, but these are my personal opinions and I hope they will invite more dialog … Continue reading C++ safety, in context →

I generally give one or two courses a year on C++ and related technologies. This year, on April 22-25, I’ll be giving a live online public course for four half-days, on the topic of high-performance low-latency coding in C++ — and the early registration discount is available for a few more days until this Thursday: Effective … Continue reading Effective Concurrency: Live online course in April →

Today, the ISO C++ committee completed its second meeting of C++26, held in Kona, HI, USA. Our hosts, Standard C++ Foundation and WorldQuant, arranged for high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. We had over 170 attendees, about two-thirds in-person and the others remote via Zoom, formally representing 21 nations. Also, at … Continue reading Trip report: Autumn ISO C++ standards...

My Thursday CppCon talk is now online. Note: There’s already a Reddit thread for it, so if you want to comment on the video I suggest you use that thread instead of creating a new one. At CppCon 2022, I argued for why we should try to make C++ 10x simpler and 50x safer, and this … Continue reading My new CppCon talk is on YouTube: “Cooperative C++ Evolution – Toward a TypeScript for C++” →

Since the 2022-12-31 year-end mini-update and the 2023-04-30 spring update, progress has continued on cppfront. (If you don’t know what this personal project is, please see the CppCon 2022 talk on YouTube for an overview, and the CppNow 2023 talk on YouTube for an interim update.) I’ll be giving a major update next week at CppCon. I hope … Continue reading cppfront: Autumn update →

Thanks again to C++ Now for inviting me to speak this year in glorious Aspen, Colorado, USA! It was nice to see many old friends again there and make a few new ones too. The talk I gave there was just posted on YouTube, you can find it here: At CppCon 2022, I argued for … Continue reading My C++ Now 2023 talk is online: “A TypeScript for C++” →

Minutes ago, the ISO C++ committee finished its meeting in-person in Varna, Bulgaria and online via Zoom, where we formally began adopting features into C++26. Our hosts, VMware and Chaos, arranged for high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. We had nearly 180 attendees, about two-thirds in-person and the others remote via … Continue reading Trip report: Summer ISO C++ standards...

Since the year-end mini-update, progress has continued on cppfront. (If you don’t know what this personal project is, please see the CppCon 2022 talk on YouTube.) This update covers Acknowledgments, and highlights of what’s new in the compiler and language since last time, including: Acknowledgments: 267 issues, 128 pull requests, and new collaborators I want to … Continue reading cppfront: Spring update →

A few days ago I recorded CppCast episode 357. Thanks to Timur Doumler and Phil Nash for inviting me on their show – and for continuing CppCast, which was so wonderfully founded by Rob Irving and Jason Turner! This time, we chatted about news in the C++ world, and then about my Cpp2 and cppfront … Continue reading Interview on CppCast →

On Saturday, the ISO C++ committee completed technical work on C++23 in Issaquah, WA, USA! We resolved the remaining international comments on the C++23 draft, and are now producing the final document to be sent out for its international approval ballot (Draft International Standard, or DIS) and final editorial work, to be published later in … Continue reading C++23 “Pandemic Edition” is complete (Trip report:...

As we close out 2022, I thought I’d write a short update on what’s been happening in Cpp2 and cppfront. If you don’t know what this personal project is, please see the CppCon 2022 talk on YouTube. Most of this post is about improvements I’ve been making and merging over the year-end holidays, and an … Continue reading Cpp2 and cppfront: Year-end mini-update →

A few minutes ago, the ISO C++ committee completed its second-to-last meeting of C++23 in Kona, HI, USA. Our host, the Standard C++ Foundation, arranged for high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. We currently have 26 active subgroups, nine of which met in six parallel tracks throughout the week; some groups … Continue reading Trip report: Autumn ISO C++ standards meeting (Kona)...

Thanks again for all the bug reports and feedback for Cpp2 and cppfront! As I mentioned last weekend, I’ve started a wiki with “Design notes” about specific aspects of the design to answer why I’ve made them they way they currently are… basic rationale, alternatives considered, in a nutshell, as quick answers to common questions I encounter repeatedly. … Continue reading Weekend update: Operator and parsing design...

Thanks to everyone who has offered bug reports and constructive suggestions for Cpp2 and cppfront. To answer common questions I encounter repeatedly, I’ve started a wiki with “Design notes” about specific aspects of the design to answer why I’ve made them they way they currently are… basic rationale, alternatives considered, in a nutshell. There are … Continue reading Cpp2 design notes: UFCS, “const”, “unsafe”, and...

[Edited to add pre-publication link to next draft of P2392, revision 2, and correct iterator comparison] Brief background As I presented at CppCon 2021 starting at 11:15, I’m proposing is (a general type or value query) and as (a general cast, for only the safe casts) for C++ evolution. The talk, and the ISO C++ … Continue reading Something I implemented today: “is void” →

It was great to see many of you at CppCon, in person and online! It was a really fun conference this year, and the exhibitor hall felt crowded again which was a good feeling as we all start traveling more again. The talk I gave on Friday is now on YouTube. In it I describe … Continue reading My CppCon 2022 talk is online: “Can C++ be 10x simpler & safer … ?” →

Whew — I’m now back from CppCon, after remembering how to travel. My talk video is now online. If you haven’t already seen this via JetBrains’ CppCon 2021 video page or the Reddit post, here’s a link: Please direct technical comments to the Reddit thread and I’ll watch for them there and respond to as … Continue reading My CppCon 2021 talk video is online →

On Monday, the ISO C++ committee held its third full-committee (plenary) meeting of the pandemic and adopted a few more features and improvements for draft C++23. We had representatives from 17 voting nations at this meeting: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and … Continue reading Trip...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. Now that we have considered assertions, postconditions, and preconditions in GotWs #97-101, let’s pause and reflect: To what extent does a failed contract imply “UB”… either the Hidden Dragon of Undefined Behavior, or the Crouching Tiger of Unspecified Behavior? 1. Briefly, what is the difference … Continue reading GotW #102 Solution: Assertions and “UB”...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. Now that we have considered assertions, postconditions, and preconditions in GotWs #97-101, let’s pause and reflect: To what extent does a failed contract imply “UB”… either the Hidden Dragon of Undefined Behavior, or the Crouching Tiger of Unspecified Behavior? JG Question 1. Briefly, what is … Continue reading GotW #102: Assertions and “UB” (Difficulty:...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We covered some basics of preconditions in GotW #100. This time, let’s see how we can use preconditions in some practical examples… 1. Consider these functions, expanded from an article by Andrzej Krzemieński: [1] … How many ways could a caller of each function get … Continue reading GotW #101 Solution: Preconditions, Part 2 (Difficulty: 7/10) →

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We covered some basics of preconditions in GotW #100. This time, let’s see how we can use preconditions in some practical examples… JG Question 1. Consider these functions, expanded from an article by Andrzej Krzemieński: [1] How many ways could a caller of each function … Continue reading GotW #101: Preconditions, Part 2 (Difficulty: 7/10) →

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We’ve seen how postconditions are directly related to assertions (see GotWs #97 and #99). So are preconditions, but that in one important way makes them fundamentally different. What is that? And why would having language support benefit us even more for writing preconditions more than … Continue reading GotW #100 Solution: Preconditions, Part 1 (Difficulty:...

Today, the ISO C++ committee held its second full-committee (plenary) meeting of the pandemic and adopted a few more features and improvements for draft C++23. A record of 18 voting nations sent representatives to this meeting: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, … Continue reading Trip...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We’ve seen how postconditions are directly related to assertions (see GotWs #97 and #99). So are preconditions, but that in one important way makes them fundamentally different. What is that? And why would having language support benefit us even more for writing preconditions more than … Continue reading GotW #100: Preconditions, Part 1 (Difficulty: 8/10) →

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. Postconditions are directly related to assertions (see GotW #97)… but how, exactly? And since we can already write postconditions using assertions, why would having language support benefit us more for writing postconditions more than for writing (ordinary) assertions? 1. What is a postcondition, and how … Continue reading GotW #99 Solution: Postconditions...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. Postconditions are directly related to assertions (see GotW #97)… but how, exactly? And since we can already write postconditions using assertions, why would having language support benefit us more for writing postconditions more than for writing (ordinary) assertions? JG Question 1. What is a postcondition, … Continue reading GotW #99: Postconditions...

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We covered basic assertions in GotW #97… but not all asserted conditions are created equal. Given some assertion facility that can be used like this: 1. Give one example each of an asserted condition whose run-time evaluation is: a) super cheap Without resorting to constexpr … Continue reading GotW #98 Solution: Assertion levels (Difficulty: 5/10) →

This special Guru of the Week series focuses on contracts. We covered basic assertions in GotW #97… but not all asserted conditions are created equal. JG Questions Given some assertion syntax: 1. Give one example each of an asserted condition whose run-time evaluation is: a) super cheap b) arbitrarily expensive Guru Questions 2. What does … Continue reading GotW #98: Assertion levels (Difficulty: 5/10) →

Assertions have been a foundational tool for writing understandable computer code since we could write computer code… far older than C’s assert() macro, they go back to at least John von Neumann and Herman Goldstine (1947) and Alan Turing (1949). [1,2] How well do we understand them… exactly? 1. What is an assertion, and what … Continue reading GotW #97 Solution: Assertions (Difficulty: 4/10) →

Assertions have been a foundational tool for writing understandable computer code since we could write computer code… far older than C’s assert() macro, they go back to at least John von Neumann and Herman Goldstine (1947) and Alan Turing (1949). [1,2] How well do we understand them… exactly? [Update: On second thought, I’ll break the … Continue reading GotW #97: Assertions (Difficulty: 4/10) →

2020 has been mostly terrible. That includes for the C++ committee and many of our communities, where just this month we lost Beman Dawes. Beman was one of the most important and influential C++ experts in the world, and made his many contributions mostly behind the scenes. I and everyone else who has ever benefited … Continue reading Firsts in 2020 (or, A little dose of good news) →

Back in early July, I did a wide-ranging “ask me anything” Q&A session at C++ Russia. The video is now available — I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again to C++ Russia for inviting me to their great online event!

On Monday, the ISO C++ committee completed its final full-committee (plenary) meeting of 2020 and adopted the first changes to the C++23 working draft, including a few new features. This was a first in several ways: It was our first-ever virtual plenary, held online via Zoom. It was also our first-ever plenary meeting that wasn’t … Continue reading Trip report: Autumn ISO C++ standards meeting (virtual) →

This video actually posted about two weeks ago, but… busy! Sorry. Here it is, I hope you enjoy it. Note that as of this writing the Clang-based prototype implementation on Godbolt is not yet complete, in particular it still needs to implement out and forward parameters.

It’s hard to believe CppCon 2020 is nearly here… in fact, pre-conference tutorials are already in progress. I’ll be at the conference throughout the week in the hallways and session rooms. Here are some of the times I’ll be participating on the actual program: Sunday 1300 MDT: Organizer’s Panel. In the middle of the Welcome … Continue reading My plans at CppCon →

A couple of interesting things happened in the ISO C++ world this week… C++20 passed unanimously, on track to publish later this year On Friday September 4, C++20’s DIS (Draft International Standard) ballot ended, and it passed unanimously. This means that C++20 has now received final technical approval and is done with ISO balloting, and … Continue reading C++20 approved, C++23 meetings and schedule update →

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the C++ on Sea 2020 virtual conference. The video of my talk has now been posted — it’s an extended version of the talk I gave at DevAroundTheSun in April. You can find it here: Thanks very much to Phil Nash and all the other … Continue reading C++ on Sea video posted: Bridge to NewThingia (extended) →

C++ Russia is an online event this year, and I’m happy to be one of many C++ folks to be invited to participate. On July 2 I’ll be doing a Q&A session, which is the first time I’m doing an “AMA” — no talk, just Q&A and discussion. I’m looking forward to it, and to … Continue reading AMA @cpp_russia on July 2 →

Last month, I gave a new talk “Bridge to NewThingia” at DevAroundTheSun. Using examples from the evolution of programming languages and a few other tech products, it analyzes some key design factors that let you confidently answer the question, “why will your NewThing succeed, when a lot of things that look like it have failed … Continue reading Talk video available: Bridge to NewThingia @DevAroundTheSun →

A few minutes ago, I announced to the ISO C++ committee that all our meetings originally planned for 2020 have been postponed. We had already postponed the Varna meeting originally planned for June 1-6, and earlier today INCITS (the U.S. national body) announced that it was banning all face-to-face standards meetings for the rest of … Continue reading The New York ISO C++ meeting is postponed →

I try hard to always ask for feedback on drafts of my talks and articles, and I always learn important things from the responses, including especially things I omitted but should include so as to pre-answer audience questions. Just like the best support call is the one the customer doesn’t have to make because they … Continue reading Of feedback, and little things →

Next week, I’m honored to be part of DevAroundTheSun, a live 24-hour global event for COVID-19 relief that starts on May 12 at 12:00 UTC. It’s like LiveAid or Lady Gaga’s recent One World: #TogetherAtHome, but for developers. You can watch on Twitch and YouTube, and all the talks are relatively short at 25 minutes… … Continue reading Speaking at DevAroundTheSun →

These short tips are useful to remember when writing high-throughput code. You may already know most of them, and if so then please spread the word — friends don’t let friends write performance bottlenecks. In a high-throughput hot loop: Avoid holding locks or other resources, unless you know it won’t block another performance-sensitive thread. Definitely … Continue reading When the hot loop’s done: Four quick tips...

Yesterday morning, I announced to the committee that the next ISO WG21 (C++) meeting originally planned for June 1-6 in Varna, Bulgaria, has been postponed due to the current health situation. We appreciate very much all the hard work and expense that our hosts, VMware and Chaos Group, have invested in welcoming us to their … Continue reading The Varna ISO C++ meeting is postponed →

References are for parameter passing, including range-for. Sometimes they’re useful as local variables, but pointers or structured bindings are usually better. Any other use of references typically leads to endless design debates. This post is an attempt to shed light on this situation, and perhaps reduce some of the time spent on unresolved ongoing design … Continue reading References, simply →

C++ “move” semantics are simple, and unchanged since C++11. But they are still widely misunderstood, sometimes because of unclear teaching and sometimes because of a desire to view move as something else instead of what it is. This post is an attempt to shed light on that situation. Thank you to the following for their … Continue reading Move, simply →

A few minutes ago, the ISO C++ committee completed its final meeting of C++20 in Prague, Czech Republic. Our host, Avast Software, arranged for spacious and high-quality facilities for our six-day meeting from Monday through Saturday. The extra space was welcome, because we had a new record of 252 attendees. We currently have 23 active … Continue reading Trip report: Winter ISO C++ standards meeting (Prague) →

The ISO C++ committee is here in Prague this week to finish C++20, and the meeting hosts Avast Software also arranged a great C++ meetup last night where over 300 people came out to see Bjarne Stroustrup, Tony Van Eerd, and me give talks. The videos are already online, see below — they’re really high … Continue reading Last night’s talk video is online: Quantifying C++’s accidental complexity, and what we really can...

A few minutes ago, the ISO C++ committee completed its autumn meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, hosted with thanks by clearpool.io, Archer-Yates, Microsoft, C++ Alliance, MCS Group, Instil, and the Standard C++ Foundation. As usual, we met for six days Monday through Saturday, and we had about 200 attendees. We now have 23 active subgroups, … Continue reading Trip report: Autumn ISO C++ standards meeting...