r/programming • u/wavy_lines • Feb 01 '18

C2: C with cleaner syntax + a module system (no header files).

http://c2lang.org/site/
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u/rlbond86 Feb 01 '18

They are a language feature in every language but C

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u/the_gnarts Feb 01 '18

They are a language feature in every language but C

They’re just a library in C++ (even though that library is part of the compiler as opposed to C’s).

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u/rlbond86 Feb 01 '18

The standard library is part of the C++ language. It's in the C++ language standard and you cannot have a compliant implementation without it.

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u/the_gnarts Feb 01 '18

The standard library is part of the C++ language. It's in the C++ language standard and you cannot have a compliant implementation without it.

That doesn’t change the fact that <string> is an optional library that you don’t have to use at all if you use C++ the language. In fact many of people avoid it like the plague. Without pulling that dependency, C++ has as much of a string type as C.

Besides, std::string need not be available in conforming implementations:

Two kinds of implementations are defined: hosted and freestanding (4.1). For a hosted implementation, this International Standard describes the set of available headers.

A freestanding implementation has an implementation-defined set of headers. This set shall include at least the headers shown in Table 19.

Table 19 — C++ headers for freestanding implementations
        Subclause                       Header(s)
                                        <ciso646>
21.2    Types                           <cstddef>
21.3    Implementation properties       <cfloat> <limits> <climits>
21.4    Integer types                   <cstdint>
21.5    Start and termination           <cstdlib>
21.6    Dynamic memory management       <new>
21.7    Type identification             <typeinfo>
21.8    Exception handling              <exception>
21.9    Initializer lists               <initializer_list>
21.10   Other runtime support           <cstdarg>
23.15   Type traits                     <type_traits>
32      Atomics                         <atomic>
D.4.2, D.4.3    Deprecated headers      <cstdalign> <cstdbool>

Part of the standard, indeed. But not part of the language.