C++ "standard" sounds more like an example of why technology should avoid standards

tialaramex a day ago | parent | next [-]

It is certainly an example of why SC22 is a bad idea

The "C++ Standards Committee" is Working Group #21 of Sub Committee #22, of the Joint Technical Committee #1 between ISO and the IEC.

It is completely the wrong shape of organization for this work, a large unwieldy bureaucracy created so that sovereign entities could somehow agree things, this works pretty well for ISO 216 (the A-series paper sizes) and while it isn't very productive for something like ISO 26262 (safety) it can't do much harm. For the deeply technical work of a programming language it's hopeless.

The IETF shows a much better way to develop standards for technology.

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jcranmer 21 hours ago | parent [-]

The fact that the C++ committee is technically a subgroup of a subgroup of a subgroup is among the least of the issues of ISO for standardization.

The main problem is that ISO is a net negative value-add for standardization. At one point, the ISO editor came back and said "you need to change the standard because you used periods instead of commas for the decimal point, a violation of ISO rules." Small wonder there's muttering about taking C and C++ out of ISO.

	▲	tialaramex 19 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I would argue that the structural problem is an underlying cause. So it won't be the proximate cause, but when you dig deeper, when you keep asking like a five year old, "But why?" the answer is ultimately ISO's structure and nothing to do with Bjarne's language in particular. Hence the concern for the non-language but still deeply technical RISC-V standardization.

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112233 a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Titanic is not an example of why building ships has to be avoided. C++ is a great example, yes, of the damage ambitious and egotistical personas can inflict when cooperation is necessary.

	▲	a day ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

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usrnm a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Say what you will about C++, but it is undoubtedly one of the most successful and influential programming languages in history.

	▲	high_na_euv a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		By which metric? C, Java, Rust, JS, C# do exist
	▲	nutjob2 18 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> influential It's certainly a cautionary tale

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actionfromafar a day ago | parent | prev [-]

If we are taking cheap potshots, there's a standard for standards: https://xkcd.com/927/ or in the proposed XKCD URI form xkcd://927