C++0x

C++0x (pronounced see plus plus oh ex) is the unofficial name of the planned new standard for the C++ programming language. It is intended to replace the existing C++ standard, ISO/IEC 14882, which was published in 1998 and updated in 2003. These predecessors are informally known as C++98 and C++03. The new standard will include several additions to the core language and will extend the C++ standard library, incorporating most of the C++ Technical Report 1 (TR1) libraries — most likely with the exception of the library of mathematical special functions. Since the standard is not yet finalized, this article may not reflect the most recent state of C++0x. The draft international standard, N3092, was published in March 2010.

The ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21 C++ Standards Committee's current schedule is to finish balloting the final committee draft by August of 2010, and to complete the final draft international standard during the March 2011 standards meeting. However, WG21 expects it to take six months to a year before the standard is officially published by ISO, leading to its publication by the end of 2011. To be able to finish on schedule, the Committee decided to focus its efforts on the solutions introduced up until 2006 and ignore newer proposals.

Programming languages such as C++ use an evolutionary process to develop and improve. This process inevitably raises compatibility issues with existing code, which has happened occasionally during the C++ development process. However, according to the announcement made by Bjarne Stroustrup, creator of the C++ language and member of the committee, the new standard will be “almost 100-percent compatible with the existing Standard C++”.