The C++ programming language--redefined

Bjarne Stroustrup, the father of C++, talks to Amazon.com about the latest version of his authoritative book, the upcoming ISO C++ standard, the quality of commercial tools, the value of Java, and the future of C++ programming.

Tom Mace, Amazon.com: Why are you updating The C++ Programming Language? What new things will readers find when they open the book?

Bjarne Stroustrup: Probably most readers will note the extensive discussion of the standard library. To the best of my knowledge, no C++ textbook has treated the standard library in this breadth and depth before. Also, a reader will note the emphasis on technique and design. All the key language features are described, and the book is organized so that language features are introduced in a logical order. However, each feature is presented in the context of a sensible use. The aim is to help the reader escape the common trap of focusing on language-technical details to the detriment of good programming.

Many have expressed surprise at how thorough a rewrite this third edition is. Basically, it is about 80% new material compared to the second edition and the organization has been extensively reworked to reflect the many things we have learned about the use of C++ over the last six years or so. This book reflects a major step in the evolution of C++ and its use.

Amazon.com: What are the most important changes to the language since the last edition was published?

Stroustrup: Actually, the most important change is not a language change; it is the addition of the standard library. Surprisingly, my second edition is still adequate with most C++ implementations. Only recently have the implementations caught up with the specification in my second edition and gone beyond that. However, there are new refinements of the template and exception mechanisms. Also, run-time type identification (RTTI) and namespaces will be new to most people. Standard C++ also offers many minor improvements such as declarations in conditions and a Boolean type. Naturally, The C++ Programming Language covers them all.

However, the key is the techniques that the language features exist to support. Most changes to the text and to the organization were done to reflect new and better ways of using the language and to take advantage of the standard library.

The standard library made it possible for me to make the language more accessible to new C++ programmers. By relying on library types--such as vector, list, and map--I can postpone the trickier points of C-style pointer and array manipulation until it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basics--or even with an appendix.

This doesn't mean that The C++ Programming Language has been watered down. It was my aim to write a book that offers much to essentially every serious C++ programmer. I suspect I have come close to that ideal. Some of the most experienced and accomplished C++ programmers helped me by reviewing drafts (you can find their names in the acknowledgement section) and every one of those learned something significant from their effort.

Amazon.com: Have you changed the book's organization?

Stroustrup: People who know my first and second editions will note that the reference manual has been replaced by the library description. Given that an international standard for C++ is imminent, I did not think it appropriate for me to provide a manual that paraphrased the standard. To compensate, the tutorial text is a bit more detailed in places and a couple of appendices provide necessary reference materials (such as the complete C++ grammar).

The book is organized like this:

Introduction: Chapters 1 through 3 give an overview of the C++ language, the key programming styles it supports, and the C++ standard library. Part I: Chapters 4 through 9 provide a tutorial introduction to C++'s built-in types and the basic facilities for constructing programs out of them. Part II: Chapters 10 through 15 are a tutorial introduction to object-oriented and generic programming using C++. Part III: Chapters 16 through 22 present the C++ standard library. Part IV: Chapters 23 through 25 discuss design and software development issues. Appendices: Appendices A through C provide language-technical details.

As with my first and second editions, I aim to provide something that will be valuable as both a tutorial for serious programmers and a reference for many years to come.

Amazon.com: Will the famous exercises be changed? Should we expect to see anything along the lines of Tony Hansen's The C++ Answer Book for the new edition?

Stroustrup: There are many new exercises, but most of the old favorites remain. It is interesting that Tony Hansen's solutions to the exercises in the first edition are mostly still valid, but in many cases the newer language features and the library make improved solutions feasible.

Addison-Wesley plans to make a set of good solutions available, but the details of how and when have not yet been made final.

Amazon.com: The deliberations of standards bodies are notoriously slow, despite the best intentions of everyone involved. How is the ANSI/ISO C++ standardization process going? Are important language features still outstanding or is it just a question of hammering out details?

Stroustrup: Formal standardization is slow and frustrating. It doesn't help that the standards bodies keep "improving" the rules for how a standard is made and what a standard is. However, the only alternative to formal standardization is the capricious and self-serving control by a commercial company.

We can always discuss what constitutes a "major" feature, but I think "a question of hammering out details" is close to the truth. No new language or standard library facilities will be introduced in this standard and none currently present will be removed. We are in the final draft stage where the focus is on precise specification of the current feature set. The time for significant improvements (and significant damage) is done. This is one of the major reasons I completed my third edition now. It describes the language we will live with (happily, I hope) for the next five to ten years.

Amazon.com: When do you hope to see the adoption of an ISO standard for C++?

Stroustrup: I hope to get the final draft sent to international vote in November. After that it takes significant effort to change even the smallest typo, but formally there won't be a standard for some time after that while the ISO and the national standards bodies cross the t's and dot the i's.

Amazon.com: Is C a viable language for the future? Would you recommend it for certain tasks?

Stroustrup: C is and will remain a viable language. However, I suspect you really mean to ask if there is something for which C is better than C++. In my opinion, the only reason to use C is if you happen to be restricted to an environment for which there is no C++ compiler or where the tool set doesn't accept C++.

As a language, C++ equals or exceeds C in every area and there are no significant problems in making C++ implementations equal or exceed C in performance of the generated code. Because C++ is a more expressive language, longer compile times are possible--especially if you use powerful features such as templates. Programmers should be careful to understand the run-time implications of the C++ features they rely on. However, given a good basic understanding of C++, this is not hard. Naturally The C++ Programming Language can help here, but a programmer might also consider looking at The Design and Evolution of C++ to see how the principles of the C++ language affect the basic efficiencies of language features and techniques.

Amazon.com: Were you surprised when C++ was used to encapsulate commercial APIs such as Windows?

Stroustrup: I was surprised by Windows. However, I was not surprised by the use of C++ for encapsulation. After all, that is one of the things C++ was designed to do. Naturally, my third edition describes techniques for encapsulation and interface design. I suspect that if the designers of the Windows APIs had had my third edition and the language that this book describes, those APIs would have been much nicer for programmers.

It might be worth noting that The C++ Programming Language describes "pure C++" as opposed to a specific API. In principle, the examples in the book should run everywhere and the techniques described should be applicable using any C++ implementation.

Amazon.com: How do you feel about the quality of commercial C++ tools?

Stroustrup: They still have a long way to go. In particular, I think that the PC suppliers have focused on flashy graphical features at the expense of solid work on the key language mechanisms. This is especially sad because a few "man years" of effort on the basics (such as generating good code for concrete types, effective inlining, good template expansion, better error detection, and better error messages) would be of immediate and significant benefit to hundreds of thousands of programmers.

My hope is that the new degree of stability that the standard will bring will encourage the compiler suppliers to make the relatively small investment in quality that is needed in the basic compiler technology.

Amazon.com: What do you think of Java as a language and virtual machines as a platform for software execution?

Stroustrup: Incredibly over-hyped. I'm unhappy about the degree of intellectual dishonesty surrounding its advertising. It is probably a nice platform for running small self-contained systems, but it is being proclaimed as the solution to every problem and for every programmer. It is not. No language and no system is. Even the platform independence issue is not as clearcut as it seems. As the Java libraries are extended to deal with more application areas, these libraries themselves become a platform. As vendors add new facilities, portability to machines using facilities from competing vendors' portability becomes compromised.

People often claim that Java is similar to C++. The similarity is only skin deep. The syntax is similar, but the computational model, the basic efficiencies and degrees of expressiveness, and many key programming techniques differ. When you consider the libraries need to work effectively, the two languages appear more different still. Java is not a good match for the C++ design criteria. Java doesn't even come close and I don't think it could come close given its own very different design criteria. Similarly, C++ doesn't meet Java's design criteria.

I'm sure that there is a niche for Java, just as there is for other languages. I just find the drum beat of advertising annoying. In particular I find Sun's ads that say "100% pure. No non-Java codes" offensive and a bit pathetic. Java cannot provide both platform independence and a major source of profits for its supplier(s).

Amazon.com: What do you see in the near and long-term future for C++?

Stroustrup: In the near future, I see continual steady growth from a large base of C++ use. In the longer term, I think the best have yet to come. The standard will most likely lead to significant improvements in quality of implementations and an explosion in tools and libraries. I'm already seeing some of that and find C++ programming more enjoyable than ever.