Wednesday
Room 4
13:40 - 14:40
(UTC+02)
Talk (60 min)
The Real Problem of C++
C++ has many problems: issues with memory safety, bounds safety, type safety, and especially undefined behavior — to just name a few. However, while this may be true for old C++ standards, today we already have wonderful solutions: ranges, value semantics, strong types, concepts, constexpr, … Using those makes it almost impossible to experience problems with these safety issues. So the question is: why do C++ developers still experience problems and why is C++ still perceived as problematic?
In this talk, we will focus on what really goes wrong in the C++ industry. We’ll talk about the 10% bubble, i.e. the fact that the vast majority of “C++ developers” is not fully aware of the state of the art and does not use the recommended tools and features. We’ll take a look at the reason why current teaching material
is not consequently updated to the newest best practices. And finally, we’ll consider the lack of investment into good programmers. Although initially it may sound like a legacy problem, we’ll come to realize that C++ has a people problem.
"No matter what they tell you, it's a people problem" (Gerald Weinberg)
Klaus Iglberger
Klaus Iglberger is a freelance C++ trainer and consultant. He is passionate talking about clean, safe and maintainable C++ and shares his expertise in popular C++ courses — from beginner to advanced — all around the world. He is the author of “C++ Software Design” (https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/c-software-design/9781098184704/), one of the organizers of the Munich C++ user group (https://www.meetup.com/MUCplusplus/), and the (co-)organizer of the Back-to-Basics and Software Design tracks at CppCon.