Interview The Author's Voice

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.
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