PLNews: Programming Language News

Herb Sutter has announced that he has written a design rationale (~1.5 MB) for C++/CLI.

Objections (~45 KB .pdf) have been raised to the use of the name C++/CLI by the ISO fast-tracking of the ECMA-372: "C++/CLI Language Specification" standard. It has been suggested that the name conflicts with the existing ISO/IEC 14882:2003 C++ standard, as C++/CLI should be considered a different language than C++.

A number of differences between C++ and C++/CLI are pointed out, including: the addition of numerous new keywords to C++/CLI, the non-standard uses of existing C++ keywords, changes to the meaning of currently-valid C++ syntax, changes to the behavior of constructors and destructors, conflicts between C++ templates and C++/CLI generics, and more. It is suggested that C++/CLI has evolved into a separate language from C++, and that referring to both of the two languages by the name "C++" could lead to confusion among programmers, employers, and consumers.

Several new names are suggested, including: CLIpp, CliPP, CLI++, ++CLI, Ceeli, and eCma++. It has also been requested that "Ecma withdraw this document from fast-track voting and if they must re-submit it, do so under a name which will not conflict with Standard C++."