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Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +000015 <a href="https://llvm.org/">LLVM Home</a>
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Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +000025 <a href="https://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/cfe-dev">cfe-dev</a>
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34 <!--*********************************************************************-->
35 <h1>"libc++" C++ Standard Library</h1>
36 <!--*********************************************************************-->
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000037
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000038 <p>libc++ is a new implementation of the C++ standard library, targeting
Howard Hinnant51eb2ad2012-07-19 15:57:51 +000039 C++11.</p>
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000040
Chris Lattner58dffe62010-11-16 21:40:19 +000041 <p>All of the code in libc++ is <a
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +000042 href="https://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html#license">dual licensed</a>
Chris Lattner58dffe62010-11-16 21:40:19 +000043 under the MIT license and the UIUC License (a BSD-like license).</p>
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000044
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000045 <!--=====================================================================-->
Eric Fiselier9da4c8e2015-10-14 20:51:33 +000046 <h2>New Documentation Coming Soon!</h2>
47 <!--=====================================================================-->
48
49 <p> Looking for documentation on how to use, build and test libc++? If so
50 checkout the new libc++ documentation.</p>
51
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +000052 <p><a href="https://libcxx.llvm.org/docs/">
Eric Fiselier9da4c8e2015-10-14 20:51:33 +000053 Click here for the new libc++ documentation.</a></p>
54
55 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000056 <h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2>
57 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000058
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000059 <ul>
Howard Hinnant51eb2ad2012-07-19 15:57:51 +000060 <li>Correctness as defined by the C++11 standard.</li>
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +000061 <li>Fast execution.</li>
62 <li>Minimal memory use.</li>
63 <li>Fast compile times.</li>
64 <li>ABI compatibility with gcc's libstdc++ for some low-level features
65 such as exception objects, rtti and memory allocation.</li>
66 <li>Extensive unit tests.</li>
67 </ul>
68
69 <!--=====================================================================-->
Marshall Clow497d9d22012-11-14 16:31:15 +000070 <h2 id="why">Why a new C++ Standard Library for C++11?</h2>
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000071 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000072
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000073 <p>After its initial introduction, many people have asked "why start a new
74 library instead of contributing to an existing library?" (like Apache's
75 libstdcxx, GNU's libstdc++, STLport, etc). There are many contributing
76 reasons, but some of the major ones are:</p>
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000077
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000078 <ul>
79 <li><p>From years of experience (including having implemented the standard
80 library before), we've learned many things about implementing
81 the standard containers which require ABI breakage and fundamental changes
82 to how they are implemented. For example, it is generally accepted that
83 building std::string using the "short string optimization" instead of
84 using Copy On Write (COW) is a superior approach for multicore
Marshall Clow497d9d22012-11-14 16:31:15 +000085 machines (particularly in C++11, which has rvalue references). Breaking
Chris Lattnerf005e8d2010-05-12 22:30:22 +000086 ABI compatibility with old versions of the library was
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000087 determined to be critical to achieving the performance goals of
88 libc++.</p></li>
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +000089
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000090 <li><p>Mainline libstdc++ has switched to GPL3, a license which the developers
91 of libc++ cannot use. libstdc++ 4.2 (the last GPL2 version) could be
Marshall Clow497d9d22012-11-14 16:31:15 +000092 independently extended to support C++11, but this would be a fork of the
Chris Lattnera940b5b2010-05-12 22:33:00 +000093 codebase (which is often seen as worse for a project than starting a new
94 independent one). Another problem with libstdc++ is that it is tightly
95 integrated with G++ development, tending to be tied fairly closely to the
96 matching version of G++.</p>
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +000097 </li>
98
99 <li><p>STLport and the Apache libstdcxx library are two other popular
Marshall Clow497d9d22012-11-14 16:31:15 +0000100 candidates, but both lack C++11 support. Our experience (and the
Howard Hinnant51eb2ad2012-07-19 15:57:51 +0000101 experience of libstdc++ developers) is that adding support for C++11 (in
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +0000102 particular rvalue references and move-only types) requires changes to
103 almost every class and function, essentially amounting to a rewrite.
Chris Lattnerd55fd112010-05-12 22:34:21 +0000104 Faced with a rewrite, we decided to start from scratch and evaluate every
105 design decision from first principles based on experience.</p>
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +0000106
Chris Lattner27de3d62010-05-12 22:21:15 +0000107 <p>Further, both projects are apparently abandoned: STLport 5.2.1 was
108 released in Oct'08, and STDCXX 4.2.1 in May'08.</p>
109
110 </ul>
111
112 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +0000113 <h2 id="requirements">Platform Support</h2>
114 <!--=====================================================================-->
115
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000116 <p>
117 libc++ is known to work on the following platforms, using g++-4.2 and
118 clang (lack of C++11 language support disables some functionality). Note
119 that functionality provided by &lt;atomic&gt; is only functional with
120 clang.
121 </p>
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +0000122
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000123 <ul>
124 <li>Mac OS X i386</li>
125 <li>Mac OS X x86_64</li>
126 <li>FreeBSD 10+ i386</li>
127 <li>FreeBSD 10+ x86_64</li>
128 <li>FreeBSD 10+ ARM</li>
129 </ul>
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +0000130
131 <!--=====================================================================-->
132 <h2 id="dir-structure">Current Status</h2>
133 <!--=====================================================================-->
134
Howard Hinnant6852b552012-11-27 18:52:32 +0000135 <p>libc++ is a 100% complete C++11 implementation on Apple's OS X. </p>
Michael J. Spencerbb8cfd02012-12-31 19:34:21 +0000136 <p>LLVM and Clang can self host in C++ and C++11 mode with libc++ on Linux.</p>
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000137 <p>libc++ is also a 100% complete C++14 implementation. A list of new features and changes for
Marshall Clowca6e3662014-04-03 02:35:29 +0000138 C++14 can be found <a href="cxx1y_status.html">here</a>.</p>
Marshall Clow68640682014-11-10 15:43:20 +0000139 <p>A list of features and changes for the next C++ standard, known here as
140 "C++1z" (probably to be C++17) can be found <a href="cxx1z_status.html">here</a>.</p>
Marshall Clow5820ae42017-07-16 23:59:23 +0000141 <p>A list of features and changes for the C++ standard beyond C++17, known here as
142 "C++2a" (probably to be C++20) can be found <a href="cxx2a_status.html">here</a>.</p>
Marshall Clowf39d9142014-06-02 23:37:13 +0000143 <p>Implementation of the post-c++14 Technical Specifications is in progress. A list of features and
144 the current status of these features can be found <a href="ts1z_status.html">here</a>.</p>
Howard Hinnantd7aac282011-09-28 15:44:39 +0000145
Eric Fiseliercd6ac3a2014-08-18 05:25:04 +0000146 <!--======================================================================-->
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000147 <h2 id="buildbots">Build Bots</h2>
Eric Fiseliercd6ac3a2014-08-18 05:25:04 +0000148 <!--======================================================================-->
Eric Fiselierf60e4412014-12-09 22:53:21 +0000149 <p>The latest libc++ build results can be found at the following locations.</p>
Eric Fiseliercd6ac3a2014-08-18 05:25:04 +0000150 <ul>
Eric Fiselierf60e4412014-12-09 22:53:21 +0000151 <li><a href="http://lab.llvm.org:8011/console">
152 Buildbot libc++ builders
Eric Fiseliercd6ac3a2014-08-18 05:25:04 +0000153 </a></li>
Eric Fiselierf60e4412014-12-09 22:53:21 +0000154 <li><a href="http://lab.llvm.org:8080/green/view/Libcxx/">
155 Jenkins libc++ builders
Eric Fiselier8c5bc1c2014-10-16 02:48:59 +0000156 </a></li>
Eric Fiseliercd6ac3a2014-08-18 05:25:04 +0000157 </ul>
158
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +0000159 <!--=====================================================================-->
160 <h2>Get it and get involved!</h2>
161 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant2807d4a2010-08-22 01:04:38 +0000162
Howard Hinnant4f4d3102011-09-30 16:58:02 +0000163 <p>First please review our
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000164 <a href="https://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html">Developer's Policy</a>.
Howard Hinnant4f4d3102011-09-30 16:58:02 +0000165
Eric Fiseliere44604a2016-06-02 02:16:28 +0000166 The documentation for building and using libc++ can be found below.
167 <ul>
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000168 <li><a href="https://libcxx.llvm.org/docs/UsingLibcxx.html">
Eric Fiseliere44604a2016-06-02 02:16:28 +0000169 <b>Using libc++</b></a>
170 Documentation on using the library in your programs</li>
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000171 <li><a href="https://libcxx.llvm.org/docs/BuildingLibcxx.html">
Eric Fiseliere44604a2016-06-02 02:16:28 +0000172 <b>Building libc++</b></a>
173 Documentation on building the library using CMake</li>
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000174 <li><a href="https://libcxx.llvm.org/docs/TestingLibcxx.html">
Eric Fiseliere44604a2016-06-02 02:16:28 +0000175 <b>Testing libc++</b></a>
176 Documentation for developers wishing to test the library</li>
177 </ul>
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000178
179 <!--=====================================================================-->
Eric Fiselier9243c762015-05-12 22:55:30 +0000180 <h3>Notes and Known Issues</h3>
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000181 <!--=====================================================================-->
182
183 <p>
Eric Fiselier9243c762015-05-12 22:55:30 +0000184 <ul>
185 <li>
186 Building libc++ with <code>-fno-rtti</code> is not supported. However
187 linking against it with <code>-fno-rtti</code> is supported.
188 </li>
189 <li>
190 On OS X v10.8 and older the CMake option
191 <code>-DLIBCXX_LIBCPPABI_VERSION=""</code> must be used during
192 configuration.
193 </li>
194 </ul>
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000195 </p>
196
197 <p>Send discussions to the
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000198 <a href="https://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/cfe-dev">clang mailing list</a>.</p>
Dan Albertec4de782014-08-11 15:12:46 +0000199
200 <!--=====================================================================-->
Marshall Clow17c6aa02014-04-03 03:13:12 +0000201 <h2>Bug reports and patches</h2>
202 <!--=====================================================================-->
203
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000204 <p>
205 If you think you've found a bug in libc++, please report it using
Stephan T. Lavavej98fa5d42017-08-31 17:59:46 +0000206 the <a href="https://bugs.llvm.org/">LLVM Bugzilla</a>. If you're not sure, you
Stephan T. Lavavej9c88eeb2017-08-31 17:59:48 +0000207 can post a message to the <a href="https://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/cfe-dev">cfe-dev</a>
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000208 mailing list or on IRC. Please include "libc++" in your subject.
209 </p>
Marshall Clow17c6aa02014-04-03 03:13:12 +0000210
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000211 <p>
212 If you want to contribute a patch to libc++, the best place for that is
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000213 <a href="https://llvm.org/docs/Phabricator.html">Phabricator</a>. Please
Dan Albert2477bed2015-01-30 22:33:41 +0000214 include [libc++] in the subject and add cfe-commits as a subscriber.
215 </p>
Marshall Clow17c6aa02014-04-03 03:13:12 +0000216
217 <!--=====================================================================-->
Howard Hinnant1de22662010-10-05 16:44:40 +0000218 <h2>Design Documents</h2>
219 <!--=====================================================================-->
220
221<ul>
222<li><a href="atomic_design.html"><tt>&lt;atomic&gt;</tt></a></li>
Howard Hinnant4b889672010-11-19 01:38:58 +0000223<li><a href="type_traits_design.html"><tt>&lt;type_traits&gt;</tt></a></li>
Stephan T. Lavavej69c2e132017-08-31 17:59:42 +0000224<li><a href="https://cplusplusmusings.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/clang-and-standard-libraries-on-mac-os-x/">Excellent notes by Marshall Clow</a></li>
Howard Hinnant1de22662010-10-05 16:44:40 +0000225</ul>
226
Howard Hinnant3e519522010-05-11 19:42:16 +0000227</div>
228</body>
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