C++ is getting to be more fun all the time. The number of converts is allegedly still doubling at least once every eight months. (I say "allegedly" because so many people are buying C/C++ compiler combinations. Or they're buying C++ to kick the tires.) More and better C++ support is available every month. But that's not the fun part, at least not to me.More fun is the fact that the C++ standards effort is rolling merrily along. I attended the March '92 meeting of X3J16/WG21 in London. It was my first since the organizational meeting way back when. By the time you read this, I will have attended the July '92 meeting in Toronto. With two years worth of preliminaries out of the way, the joint committee has formed its work habits. Hardly a minute gets wasted.
Even more fun is the fact that so much remains to be done. C++ is far more malleable than was C after two years of standardization. Partly that's because C++ is far more ambitious than C. And its ambitions have yet to be bounded. Significant additions — like run-time type identification — are still being considered. Those who want a quick standard may be dismayed at such prospects. But those who want to further refine the language are having a ball.
Most fun for me is the opportunities presented in the library area. The addition of templates and exception handling has changed all the rules. What was once a good library design must now be revisited in detail. In London, I was surprised to find old hands at C++ debating fundamental design principles for C++ libraries. Now I understand why.
Is the language stable enough to use on serious projects? Most certainly. The standardization process has stabilized the core even as it has opened C++ to new additions. Do we know what Standard C++ will look like in all its glory? Hardly. Much remains to be done. Stay tuned.
P.J. Plauger
cujed@rdpub.com