The 10 Essential Features for the Future of C++ Libraries

Explore 10 critical missing C++ features that could revolutionize library development in this conference talk from ACCU 2025. Discover how addressing current language and standard library limitations can empower developers to create more robust, efficient, and expressive libraries through concrete examples from quantities and units libraries. Learn about features that could simplify complex generic programming, improve type safety without sacrificing functionality, enable more concise and expressive code, and serve as building blocks for crucial new library capabilities. Examine both features already proposed for C++ standardization and conceptual ideas that may enter the standardization pipeline in the future. Gain insights into the potential future of C++ library development and understand how these proposed enhancements could shape the language for years to come, opening new possibilities and revolutionizing library construction approaches. The presentation draws from over 20 years of C++ development experience and active participation in the ISO C++ Committee (WG21), providing expert perspective on the evolution of C++ library development practices and the language's future direction.