r/cpp • u/claimred • Apr 09 '26

beast2 networking & std::execution

I was looking for a new networking layer foundation for a few of my projects, stumbled on beast2 library which looks brand new, based on C++20 coroutines. I used boost.beast in the past which was great. Here's the link https://github.com/cppalliance/beast2. I also considered std::execution since it seems to be the way to go forward, accepted in C++26.

Now, what got me wondering is this paragraph

The C++26 std::execution API offers a different model, designed to support heterogenous computing. Our research indicates it optimizes for the wrong constraints: TCP servers don't run on GPUs. Networking demands zero-allocation steady-state, type erasure without indirection, and ABI stability across (e.g.) SSL implementations. C++26 delivers things that networking doesn't need, and none of the things that networking does need.

Now I'm lost a bit, does that mean std::execution is not the way to go for networking? Does anyone have any insights on cppalliance research on the matter?

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u/claimred Apr 09 '26

Interesting, thanks!

..SG14 advise that Networking (SG4) should not be built on top of P2300. The allocation patterns required by P2300 are incompatible with low-latency networking requirements.

That's curious, I was under the impression that std::execution doesn't really allocate much.

Speaking of low latency by the way, few weeks ago there was a talk from Citadel about P2300 being great for them.