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C++11
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
C++11 (formerly known as C++0x) is the most recent version of the standard of the C++ programming
language. It was approved by ISO on 12 August 2011, replacing C++03.
[1]
The name follows the tradition
of naming language versions by the year of the specification's publication.
C++11 includes several additions to the core language and extends the C++ standard library, incorporating
most of the C++ Technical Report 1 (TR1) libraries with the exception of the library of mathematical
special functions.
[2]
C++11 was published as ISO/IEC 14882:2011
[3]
in September 2011 and is available
for a fee. The working draft most similar to the published C++11 standard is N3337, dated 16 January
2012;
[4]
it has only editorial corrections from the C++11 standard.
[5]
Work is currently under way on the C++14 and C++17 standards.
[6]
Contents
1 Changes from the previous version of the standard
2 Extensions to the C++ core language
2.1 Core language runtime performance enhancements
2.1.1 Rvalue references and move constructors
2.1.2 constexpr Generalized constant expressions
2.1.3 Modification to the definition of plain old data
2.2 Core language build time performance enhancements
2.2.1 Extern template
2.3 Core language usability enhancements
2.3.1 Initializer lists
2.3.2 Uniform initialization
2.3.3 Type inference
2.3.4 Range-based for loop
2.3.5 Lambda functions and expressions
2.3.6 Alternative function syntax
2.3.7 Object construction improvement
2.3.8 Explicit overrides and final
2.3.9 Null pointer constant
2.3.10 Strongly typed enumerations
2.3.11 Right angle bracket
2.3.12 Explicit conversion operators
2.3.13 Alias templates
2.3.14 Unrestricted unions
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2.4 Core language functionality improvements
2.4.1 Variadic templates
2.4.2 New string literals
2.4.3 User-defined literals
2.4.4 Multithreading memory model
2.4.5 Thread-local storage
2.4.6 Explicitly defaulted and deleted special member functions
2.4.7 Type long long int
2.4.8 Static assertions
2.4.9 Allow sizeof to work on members of classes without an explicit object
2.4.10 Control and query object alignment
2.4.11 Allow garbage collected implementations
2.4.12 Attributes
3 C++ standard library changes
3.1 Upgrades to standard library components
3.2 Threading facilities
3.3 Tuple types
3.4 Hash tables
3.5 Regular expressions
3.6 General-purpose smart pointers
3.7 Extensible random number facility
3.8 Wrapper reference
3.9 Polymorphic wrappers for function objects
3.10 Type traits for metaprogramming
3.11 Uniform method for computing the return type of function objects
4 Features originally planned but removed or not included
5 Features removed or deprecated
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Changes from the previous version of the standard
The modifications for C++ involve both the core language and the standard library.
In the development of every utility of the 2011 standard, the committee has applied some directives:
Maintain stability and compatibility with C++98 and possibly with C;
Prefer introduction of new features through the standard library, rather than extending the core
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language;
Prefer changes that can evolve programming technique;
Improve C++ to facilitate systems and library design, rather than to introduce new features useful
only to specific applications;
Increase type safety by providing safer alternatives to earlier unsafe techniques;
Increase performance and the ability to work directly with hardware;
Provide proper solutions for real-world problems;
Implement zero-overhead principle (additional support required by some utilities must be used
only if the utility is used);
Make C++ easy to teach and to learn without removing any utility needed by expert programmers.
Attention to beginners is considered important, because they will always compose the majority of
computer programmers, and because many beginners would not intend to extend their knowledge of C++,
limiting themselves to operate in the aspects of the language in which they are specialized.
[1]
Extensions to the C++ core language
One function of the C++ committee is the development of the language core. Areas of the core language
that were significantly improved include multithreading support, generic programming support, uniform
initialization, and performance enhancements.
For the purposes of this article, core language features and changes are grouped into four general sections:
run-time performance enhancements, build-time performance enhancements, usability enhancements, and
new functionality. Some features could fall into multiple groups, but they are mentioned only in the group
that primarily represents that feature.
Core language runtime performance enhancements
These language features primarily exist to provide some kind of performance benefit, either of memory or
of computational speed.
Rvalue references and move constructors
In C++03 (and before), temporaries (termed "rvalues", as they often lie on the right side of an assignment)
were intended to never be modifiable just as in C and were considered to be indistinguishable from
const T& types; nevertheless, in some cases, temporaries could have been modified, a behavior that was
even considered to be a useful loophole (for the former, see "C++ coding standards" #15
[7]
). C++11 adds
a new non-const reference type called an rvalue reference, identified by T&&. This refers to temporaries that
are permitted to be modified after they are initialized, for the purpose of allowing "move semantics".
A chronic performance problem with C++03 is the costly and unnecessary deep copies that can happen
implicitly when objects are passed by value. To illustrate the issue, consider that a std::vector<T> is,
internally, a wrapper around a C-style array with a size. If a std::vector<T> temporary is created or
returned from a function, it can be stored only by creating a new std::vector<T> and copying all of the
rvalue's data into it. Then the temporary and all its memory is destroyed. (For simplicity, this discussion
neglects the return value optimization.)
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In C++11, a move constructor of std::vector<T> that takes an rvalue reference to a std::vector<T>
can copy the pointer to the internal C-style array out of the rvalue into the new std::vector<T>, then set
the pointer inside the rvalue to null. Since the temporary will never again be used, no code will try to
access the null pointer, and because the pointer is null, its memory is not deleted when it goes out of scope.
Hence, the operation not only forgoes the expense of a deep copy, but is safe and invisible.
Rvalue references can provide performance benefits to existing code without needing to make any changes
outside the standard library. The type of the returned value of a function returning a std::vector<T>
temporary does not need to be changed explicitly to std::vector<T> && to invoke the move constructor,
as temporaries are considered rvalues automatically. (However, if std::vector<T> is a C++03 version
without a move constructor, then the copy constructor will be invoked with a const std::vector<T>&,
incurring a significant memory allocation.)
For safety reasons, some restrictions are imposed. A named variable will never be considered to be an
rvalue even if it is declared as such; in order to get an rvalue, the function template std::move<T>()
should be used. Rvalue references can also be modified only under certain circumstances, being intended
to be used primarily with move constructors.
Due to the nature of the wording of rvalue references, and to some modification to the wording for lvalue
references (regular references), rvalue references allow developers to provide perfect function forwarding.
When combined with variadic templates, this ability allows for function templates that can perfectly
forward arguments to another function that takes those particular arguments. This is most useful for
forwarding constructor parameters, to create factory functions that will automatically call the correct
constructor for those particular arguments. This is seen in the emplace_back
(http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector/emplace_back) set of the C++ standard library
methods.
constexpr Generalized constant expressions
C++ has always had the concept of constant expressions. These are expressions such as 3+4 that will
always yield the same results, at compile time and at run time. Constant expressions are optimization
opportunities for compilers, and compilers frequently execute them at compile time and hardcode the
results in the program. Also, there are a number of places where the C++ specification requires the use of
constant expressions. Defining an array requires a constant expression, and enumerator values must be
constant expressions.
However, a constant expression has never been allowed to contain a function call or object constructor. So
a piece of code as simple as this is illegal:
int get_five() {return 5;}

int some_value[get_five() + 7]; // Create an array of 12 integers. Ill-formed C++
This was not legal in C++03, because get_five() + 7 is not a constant expression. A C++03 compiler
has no way of knowing if get_five() actually is constant at runtime. In theory, this function could affect
a global variable, call other non-runtime constant functions, etc.
C++11 introduced the keyword constexpr, which allows the user to guarantee that a function or object
constructor is a compile-time constant.
[8]
The above example can be rewritten as follows:
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constexpr int get_five() {return 5;}

int some_value[get_five() + 7]; // Create an array of 12 integers. Legal C++11
This allows the compiler to understand, and verify, that get_five() is a compile-time constant.
The use of constexpr on a function imposes some limitations on what that function can do. First, the
function must have a non-void return type. Second, the function body cannot declare variables or define
new types. Third, the body may contain only declarations, null statements and a single return statement.
There must exist argument values such that, after argument substitution, the expression in the return
statement produces a constant expression.
Prior to C++11, the values of variables could be used in constant expressions only if the variables are
declared const, have an initializer which is a constant expression, and are of integral or enumeration type.
C++11 removes the restriction that the variables must be of integral or enumeration type if they are defined
with the constexpr keyword:
constexpr double earth_gravitational_acceleration = 9.8;
constexpr double moon_gravitational_acceleration = earth_gravitational_acceleration / 6.0;
Such data variables are implicitly const, and must have an initializer which must be a constant expression.
In order to construct constant expression data values from user-defined types, constructors can also be
declared with constexpr. A constexpr constructor's function body can contain only declarations and
null statements, and cannot declare variables or define types, as with a constexpr function. There must
exist argument values such that, after argument substitution, it initializes the class's members with constant
expressions. The destructors for such types must be trivial.
The copy constructor for a type with any constexpr constructors should usually also be defined as a
constexpr constructor, in order to allow objects of the type to be returned by value from a constexpr
function. Any member function of a class, such as copy constructors, operator overloads, etc., can be
declared as constexpr, so long as they meet the requirements for constexpr functions. This allows the
compiler to copy classes at compile time, perform operations on them, etc.
If a constexpr function or constructor is called with arguments which aren't constant expressions, the call
behaves as if the function were not constexpr, and the resulting value is not a constant expression.
Likewise, if the expression in the return statement of a constexpr function does not evaluate to a constant
expression for a particular invocation, the result is not a constant expression.
Modification to the definition of plain old data
In C++03, a class or struct must follow a number of rules in order for it to be considered a plain old data
(POD) type. Types that fit this definition produce object layouts that are compatible with C, and they could
also be initialized statically. The C++03 standard has restrictions on what types are compatible with C or
can be statically initialized despite no technical reason a compiler couldn't accept the program; if someone
were to create a C++03 POD type and add a non-virtual member function, this type would no longer be a
POD type, could not be statically initialized, and would be incompatible with C despite no change to the
memory layout.
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C++11 relaxed several of the POD rules, by dividing the POD concept into two separate concepts: trivial
and standard-layout.
A type that is trivial can be statically initialized. It also means that it is legal to copy data around via
memcpy, rather than having to use a copy constructor. The lifetime of a trivial type begins when its storage
is defined, not when a constructor completes.
A trivial class or struct is defined as one that:
1. Has a trivial default constructor. This may use the default constructor syntax (SomeConstructor()
= default;).
2. Has trivial copy and move constructors, which may use the default syntax.
3. Has trivial copy and move assignment operators, which may use the default syntax.
4. Has a trivial destructor, which must not be virtual.
Constructors are trivial only if there are no virtual member functions of the class and no virtual base
classes. Copy/move operations also require that all of the non-static data members be trivial.
A type that is standard-layout means that it orders and packs its members in a way that is compatible with
C. A class or struct is standard-layout, by definition, provided:
1. It has no virtual functions
2. It has no virtual base classes
3. All its non-static data members have the same access control (public, private, protected)
4. All its non-static data members, including any in its base classes, are in the same one class in the
hierarchy
5. The above rules also apply to all the base classes and to all non-static data members in the class
hierarchy
6. It has no base classes of the same type as the first defined non-static data member
A class/struct/union is considered POD if it is trivial, standard-layout, and all of its non-static data members
and base classes are PODs.
By separating these concepts, it becomes possible to give up one without losing the other. A class with
complex move and copy constructors may not be trivial, but it could be standard-layout and thus interop
with C. Similarly, a class with public and private non-static data members would not be standard-layout,
but it could be trivial and thus memcpy-able.
Core language build time performance enhancements
Extern template
In C++03, the compiler must instantiate a template whenever a fully specified template is encountered in a
translation unit. If the template is instantiated with the same types in many translation units, this can
dramatically increase compile times. There is no way to prevent this in C++03, so C++11 introduced
extern template declarations, analogous to extern data declarations.
C++03 has this syntax to oblige the compiler to instantiate a template:
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template class std::vector<MyClass>;
C++11 now provides this syntax:
extern template class std::vector<MyClass>;
which tells the compiler not to instantiate the template in this translation unit.
Core language usability enhancements
These features exist for the primary purpose of making the language easier to use. These can improve type
safety, minimize code repetition, make erroneous code less likely, etc.
Initializer lists
C++03 inherited the initializer-list feature from C. A struct or array is given a list of arguments in braces, in
the order of the members' definitions in the struct. These initializer-lists are recursive, so an array of structs
or struct containing other structs can use them.
struct Object {
float first;
int second;
};

Object scalar = {0.43f, 10}; //One Object, with first=0.43f and second=10
Object anArray[] = {{13.4f, 3}, {43.28f, 29}, {5.934f, 17}}; //An array of three Objects
This is very useful for static lists or just for initializing a struct to a particular value. C++ also provides
constructors to initialize an object, but they are often not as convenient as the initializer list. However
C++03 allows initializer-lists only on structs and classes that conform to the Plain Old Data (POD)
definition; C++11 extends initializer-lists, so they can be used for all classes including standard containers
like std::vector.
C++11 binds the concept to a template, called std::initializer_list. This allows constructors and
other functions to take initializer-lists as parameters. For example:
class SequenceClass {
public:
SequenceClass(std::initializer_list<int> list);
};
This allows SequenceClass to be constructed from a sequence of integers, as such:
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SequenceClass some_var = {1, 4, 5, 6};
This constructor is a special kind of constructor, called an initializer-list-constructor. Classes with such a
constructor are treated specially during uniform initialization (see below)
The class std::initializer_list<> is a first-class C++11 standard library type. However, they can be
initially constructed statically by the C++11 compiler only through the use of the {} syntax. The list can be
copied once constructed, though this is only a copy-by-reference. An initializer list is constant; its members
cannot be changed once the initializer list is created, nor can the data in those members be changed.
Because initializer_list is a real type, it can be used in other places besides class constructors. Regular
functions can take typed initializer lists as arguments. For example:
void function_name(std::initializer_list<float> list);

function_name({1.0f, -3.45f, -0.4f});
Standard containers can also be initialized in the following ways:
std::vector<std::string> v = { "xyzzy", "plugh", "abracadabra" };
std::vector<std::string> v({ "xyzzy", "plugh", "abracadabra" });
std::vector<std::string> v{ "xyzzy", "plugh", "abracadabra" }; // see "Uniform initialization" below
Uniform initialization
C++03 has a number of problems with initializing types. There are several ways to initialize types, and
they do not all produce the same results when interchanged. The traditional constructor syntax, for
example, can look like a function declaration, and steps must be taken to ensure that the compiler's most
vexing parse rule will not mistake it for such. Only aggregates and POD types can be initialized with
aggregate initializers (using SomeType var = {/*stuff*/};).
C++11 provides a syntax that allows for fully uniform type initialization that works on any object. It
expands on the initializer list syntax:
struct BasicStruct {
int x;
double y;
};

struct AltStruct {
AltStruct(int x, double y) : x_{x}, y_{y} {}

private:
int x_;
double y_;
};

BasicStruct var1{5, 3.2};
AltStruct var2{2, 4.3};
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The initialization of var1 behaves exactly as though it were aggregate-initialization. That is, each data
member of an object, in turn, will be copy-initialized with the corresponding value from the initializer-list.
Implicit type conversion will be used where necessary. If no conversion exists, or only a narrowing
conversion exists, the program is ill-formed. The initialization of var2 invokes the constructor.
One is also able to do the following:
struct IdString {
std::string name;
int identifier;
};

IdString get_string() {
return {"foo", 42}; //Note the lack of explicit type.
}
Uniform initialization does not replace constructor syntax. There are still times when constructor syntax is
required. If a class has an initializer list constructor (TypeName(initializer_list<SomeType>);), then
it takes priority over other forms of construction, provided that the initializer list conforms to the sequence
constructor's type. The C++11 version of std::vector has an initializer list constructor for its template
type. This means that the following code:
std::vector<int> the_vec{4};
will call the initializer list constructor, not the constructor of std::vector that takes a single size
parameter and creates the vector with that size. To access the latter constructor, the user will need to use
the standard constructor syntax directly.
Type inference
In C++03 (and C), the type of a variable must be explicitly specified in order to use it. However, with the
advent of template types and template metaprogramming techniques, the type of something, particularly the
well-defined return value of a function, may not be easily expressed. Therefore, storing intermediates in
variables is difficult, possibly requiring knowledge of the internals of a particular metaprogramming
library.
C++11 allows this to be mitigated in two ways. First, the definition of a variable with an explicit
initialization can use the auto keyword. This creates a variable of the specific type of the initializer:
auto some_strange_callable_type = std::bind(&some_function, _2, _1, some_object);
auto other_variable = 5;
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The type of some_strange_callable_type is simply whatever the particular template function override
of std::bind returns for those particular arguments. This type is easily determined procedurally by the
compiler as part of its semantic analysis duties, but is not easy for the user to determine upon inspection.
The type of other_variable is also well-defined, but it is easier for the user to determine. It is an int,
which is the same type as the integer literal.
Additionally, the keyword decltype can be used to determine the type of an expression at compile-time.
For example:
int some_int;
decltype(some_int) other_integer_variable = 5;
This is more useful in conjunction with auto, since the type of an auto variable is known only to the
compiler. However, decltype can also be very useful for expressions in code that makes heavy use of
operator overloading and specialized types.
auto is also useful for reducing the verbosity of the code. For instance, instead of writing
for (std::vector<int>::const_iterator itr = myvec.cbegin(); itr != myvec.cend(); ++itr)
the programmer can use the shorter
for (auto itr = myvec.cbegin(); itr != myvec.cend(); ++itr)
This difference grows as the programmer begins to nest containers, though in such cases typedefs are a
good way to decrease the amount of code.
The type denoted by decltype can be different from the type deduced by auto.
#include <vector>
int main() {
const std::vector<int> v(1);
auto a = v[0]; // a has type int
decltype(v[1]) b = 1; // b has type const int&, the return type of
// std::vector<int>::operator[](size_type) const
auto c = 0; // c has type int
auto d = c; // d has type int
decltype(c) e; // e has type int, the type of the entity named by c
decltype((c)) f = c; // f has type int&, because (c) is an lvalue
decltype(0) g; // g has type int, because 0 is an rvalue
}
Range-based for loop
C++11 extends the syntax of the for statement to allow for easy iteration over a range of elements:
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int my_array[5] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
// double the value of each element in my_array:
for (int &x : my_array) {
x *= 2;
}
// similar but also using type inference for array elements
for (auto &x : my_array) {
x *= 2;
}
This form of for, called the range-based for, will iterate over each element in the list. It will work for C-
style arrays, initializer lists, and any type that has begin() and end() functions defined for it that return
iterators. All of the standard library containers that have begin/end pairs will work with the range-based for
statement.
Lambda functions and expressions
Main article: Anonymous function C++ (since C++11)
C++11 provides the ability to create anonymous functions, called lambda functions.
[9]
These are defined
as follows:
[](int x, int y) { return x + y; }
The return type is implicit; it returns the type of the return expression (decltype(x+y)). The return type of
a lambda can be omitted as long as all return expressions return the same type. A lambda can optionally
be a closure.
Alternative function syntax
Standard C function declaration syntax was perfectly adequate for the feature set of the C language. As
C++ evolved from C, it kept the basic syntax and extended it where necessary. However, as C++ became
more complicated, it exposed a number of limitations, particularly with regard to template function
declarations. The following, for example, is not allowed in C++03:
template<class Lhs, class Rhs>
Ret adding_func(const Lhs &lhs, const Rhs &rhs) {return lhs + rhs;} //Ret must be the type of lhs+rhs
The type Ret is whatever the addition of types Lhs and Rhs will produce. Even with the aforementioned
C++11 functionality of decltype, this is not possible:
template<class Lhs, class Rhs>
decltype(lhs+rhs) adding_func(const Lhs &lhs, const Rhs &rhs) {return lhs + rhs;} //Not legal C++11
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This is not legal C++ because lhs and rhs have not yet been defined; they will not be valid identifiers
until after the parser has parsed the rest of the function prototype.
To work around this, C++11 introduced a new function declaration syntax, with a trailing-return-type:
template<class Lhs, class Rhs>
auto adding_func(const Lhs &lhs, const Rhs &rhs) -> decltype(lhs+rhs) {return lhs + rhs;}
This syntax can be used for more mundane function declarations and definitions:
struct SomeStruct {
auto func_name(int x, int y) -> int;
};

auto SomeStruct::func_name(int x, int y) -> int {
return x + y;
}
The use of the keyword auto in this case means something different from its use in automatic type
deduction.
Object construction improvement
In C++03, constructors of a class are not allowed to call other constructors of that class; each constructor
must construct all of its class members itself or call a common member function, like these,
class SomeType {
int number;

private:
void Construct(int new_number) { number = new_number; }
public:
SomeType(int new_number) { Construct(new_number); }
SomeType() { Construct(42); }
};
Constructors for base classes cannot be directly exposed to derived classes; each derived class must
implement constructors even if a base class constructor would be appropriate. Non-constant data members
of classes cannot be initialized at the site of the declaration of those members. They can be initialized only
in a constructor.
C++11 provides solutions to all of these problems.
C++11 allows constructors to call other peer constructors (known as delegation). This allows constructors
to utilize another constructor's behavior with a minimum of added code. Examples of other languages
similar to C++ that provide delegation are Java, C#, and D.
This syntax is as follows:
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class SomeType {
int number;

public:
SomeType(int new_number) : number(new_number) {}
SomeType() : SomeType(42) {}
};
Notice that, in this case, the same effect could have been achieved by making new_number a defaulting
parameter. The new syntax, however, allows the default value (42) to be expressed in the implementation
rather than the interface a benefit to maintainers of library code since default values for function
parameters are baked in to call sites, whereas constructor delegation allows the value to be changed
without recompilation of the code using the library.
This comes with a caveat: C++03 considers an object to be constructed when its constructor finishes
executing, but C++11 considers an object constructed once any constructor finishes execution. Since
multiple constructors will be allowed to execute, this will mean that each delegating constructor will be
executing on a fully constructed object of its own type. Derived class constructors will execute after all
delegation in their base classes is complete.
For base-class constructors, C++11 allows a class to specify that base class constructors will be inherited.
This means that the C++11 compiler will generate code to perform the inheritance, the forwarding of the
derived class to the base class. Note that this is an all-or-nothing feature; either all of that base class's
constructors are forwarded or none of them are. Also, note that there are restrictions for multiple
inheritance, such that class constructors cannot be inherited from two classes that use constructors with the
same signature. Nor can a constructor in the derived class exist that matches a signature in the inherited
base class.
The syntax is as follows:
class BaseClass {
public:
BaseClass(int value);
};

class DerivedClass : public BaseClass {
public:
using BaseClass::BaseClass;
};
For member initialization, C++11 allows the following syntax:
class SomeClass {
public:
SomeClass() {}
explicit SomeClass(int new_value) : value(new_value) {}

private:
int value = 5;
};
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Any constructor of the class will initialize value with 5, if the constructor does not override the
initialization with its own. So the above empty constructor will initialize value as the class definition
states, but the constructor that takes an int will initialize it to the given parameter.
It can also use constructor or uniform initialization, instead of the assignment initialization shown above.
Explicit overrides and final
In C++03, it is possible to accidentally create a new virtual function, when one intended to override a base
class function. For example:
struct Base {
virtual void some_func(float);
};

struct Derived : Base {
virtual void some_func(int);
};
Suppose the Derived::some_func is intended to replace the base class version. But instead, because it
has a different signature, it creates a second virtual function. This is a common problem, particularly when
a user goes to modify the base class.
C++11 provides syntax to solve this problem.
struct Base {
virtual void some_func(float);
};

struct Derived : Base {
virtual void some_func(int) override; // ill-formed - doesn't override a base class method
};
The override special identifier means that the compiler will check the base class(es) to see if there is a
virtual function with this exact signature. And if there is not, the compiler will indicate an error.
C++11 also adds the ability to prevent inheriting from classes or simply preventing overriding methods in
derived classes. This is done with the special identifier final. For example:
struct Base1 final { };

struct Derived1 : Base1 { }; // ill-formed because the class Base1 has been marked final
struct Base2 {
virtual void f() final;
};

struct Derived2 : Base2 {
void f(); // ill-formed because the virtual function Base2::f has been marked final
};
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In this example, the virtual void f() final; statement declares a new virtual function, but it also
prevents derived classes from overriding it. It also has the effect of preventing derived classes from using
that particular function name and parameter combination.
Note that neither override nor final are language keywords. They are technically identifiers for
declarator attributes:
they gain special meaning as attributes only when used in those specific trailing contexts (after all
type specifiers, access specifiers, member declarations (for struct, class and enum types) and
declarator specifiers, but before initialization or code implementation of each declarator in a comma-
separated list of declarators);
they do not alter the declared type signature and do not declare or override any new identifier in any
scope;
the recognized and accepted declarator attributes may be extended in future versions of C++ (some
compiler-specific extensions already recognize additional declarator attributes, in order to provide
code generation options or optimization hints to the compiler, or to generate additional data into the
compiled code, intended for debuggers, linkers, and deployment of the compiled code, or to provide
additional system-specific security attributes, or to enhance reflection capabilities at runtime, or to
provide additional binding information for interoperability with other programming languages and
runtime systems; these extensions may take parameters between parentheses after the declarator
attribute identifier; for ANSI conformance, these compiler-specific extensions should use the double
underscore prefix convention).
In any other location, they can be valid identifiers for new declarations (and later use if they are
accessible).
Null pointer constant
For the purposes of this section and this section alone, every occurrence of 0 is meant as a constant
expression which evaluates to 0, which is of type int. In reality, the constant expression can be of any
integral type.
Since the dawn of C in 1972, the constant 0 has had the double role of constant integer and null pointer
constant. The ambiguity inherent in the double meaning of 0 was dealt with in C by the use of the
preprocessor macro NULL, which commonly expands to either ((void*)0) or 0. C++ didn't adopt the
same behavior, allowing only 0 as a null pointer constant. This interacts poorly with function overloading:
void foo(char *);
void foo(int);
If NULL is defined as 0 (which is usually the case in C++), the statement foo(NULL); will call foo(int),
which is almost certainly not what the programmer intended, and not what a superficial reading of the code
suggests.
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C++11 corrects this by introducing a new keyword to serve as a distinguished null pointer constant:
nullptr. It is of type nullptr_t, which is implicitly convertible and comparable to any pointer type or
pointer-to-member type. It is not implicitly convertible or comparable to integral types, except for bool.
While the original proposal specified that an rvalue of type nullptr should not be convertible to bool, the
core language working group decided that such a conversion would be desirable, for consistency with
regular pointer types. The proposed wording changes were unanimously voted into the Working Paper in
June 2008.
[2]
For backwards compatibility reasons, 0 remains a valid null pointer constant.
char *pc = nullptr; // OK
int *pi = nullptr; // OK
bool b = nullptr; // OK. b is false.
int i = nullptr; // error

foo(nullptr); // calls foo(nullptr_t), not foo(int);
/*
Note that foo(nullptr_t) will actually call foo(char *) in the example above using an implicit conversion,
only if there are no other functions overloading with compatible pointer types in scope.
If there are multiple overloadings, the resolution will fail as it is ambiguous,
unless there is an explicit declaration of foo(nullptr_t).

In standard types headers for C++11, the nullptr_t type should be declared as:
typedef decltype(nullptr) nullptr_t;
but not as:
typedef int nullptr_t; // previous versions of C++ which require NULL being defined as 0
typedef void *nullptr_t; // ANSI C which defines NULL as ((void*)0)
*/
Strongly typed enumerations
In C++03, enumerations are not type-safe. They are effectively integers, even when the enumeration types
are distinct. This allows the comparison between two enum values of different enumeration types. The
only safety that C++03 provides is that an integer or a value of one enum type does not convert implicitly
to another enum type. Additionally, the underlying integral type is implementation-defined; code that
depends on the size of the enumeration is therefore non-portable. Lastly, enumeration values are scoped to
the enclosing scope. Thus, it is not possible for two separate enumerations to have matching member
names.
C++11 allows a special classification of enumeration that has none of these issues. This is expressed using
the enum class (enum struct is also accepted as a synonym) declaration:
enum class Enumeration {
Val1,
Val2,
Val3 = 100,
Val4 // = 101
};
This enumeration is type-safe. Enum class values are not implicitly converted to integers; therefore, they
cannot be compared to integers either (the expression Enumeration::Val4 == 101 gives a compiler
error).
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The underlying type of enum classes is always known. The default type is int; this can be overridden to a
different integral type as can be seen in the following example:
enum class Enum2 : unsigned int {Val1, Val2};
With old-style enumerations the values are placed in the outer scope. With new-style enumerations they are
placed within the scope of the enum class name. So in the above example, Val1 is undefined, but
Enum2::Val1 is defined.
There is also a transitional syntax to allow old-style enumerations to provide explicit scoping as well as the
definition of the underlying type:
enum Enum3 : unsigned long {Val1 = 1, Val2};
In this case the enumerator names are defined in the enumeration's scope (Enum3::Val1), but for
backwards compatibility they are also placed in the enclosing scope.
Forward-declaring enums are also possible in C++11. Previously, enum types could not be forward-
declared because the size of the enumeration depends on the definition of its members. As long as the size
of the enumeration is specified either implicitly or explicitly, it can be forward-declared:
enum Enum1; // Illegal in C++03 and C++11; the underlying type cannot be determined.
enum Enum2 : unsigned int; // Legal in C++11, the underlying type is explicitly specified.
enum class Enum3; // Legal in C++11, the underlying type is int.
enum class Enum4 : unsigned int; // Legal in C++11.
enum Enum2 : unsigned short; // Illegal in C++11, because Enum2 was previously declared with a different underlying type.
Right angle bracket
C++03's parser defines >> as the right shift operator in all cases. However, with nested template
declarations, there is a tendency for the programmer to neglect to place a space between the two right angle
brackets, thus causing a compiler syntax error.
C++11 improves the specification of the parser so that multiple right angle brackets will be interpreted as
closing the template argument list where it is reasonable. This can be overridden by using parentheses
around parameter expressions using the >, >= or >> binary operators:
template<bool Test> class SomeType;
std::vector<SomeType<1>2>> x1; // Interpreted as a std::vector of SomeType<true>,
// followed by "2 >> x1", which is not legal syntax for a declarator. 1 is true.
std::vector<SomeType<(1>2)>> x1; // Interpreted as std::vector of SomeType<false>,
// followed by the declarator "x1", which is legal C++11 syntax. (1>2) is false.
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Explicit conversion operators
C++98 added the explicit keyword as a modifier on constructors to prevent single-argument
constructors from being used as implicit type conversion operators. However, this does nothing for actual
conversion operators. For example, a smart pointer class may have an operator bool() to allow it to act
more like a primitive pointer: if it includes this conversion, it can be tested with if
(smart_ptr_variable) (which would be true if the pointer was non-null and false otherwise). However,
this allows other, unintended conversions as well. Because C++ bool is defined as an arithmetic type, it
can be implicitly converted to integral or even floating-point types, which allows for mathematical
operations that are not intended by the user.
In C++11, the explicit keyword can now be applied to conversion operators. As with constructors, it
prevents the use of those conversion functions in implicit conversions. However, language contexts that
specifically require a boolean value (the conditions of if-statements and loops, as well as operands to the
logical operators) count as explicit conversions and can thus use a bool conversion operator.
For example, this feature solves in a clean way the safe bool issue.
Alias templates
In C++03, it is possible to define a typedef only as a synonym for another type, including a synonym for a
template specialization with all actual template arguments specified. It is not possible to create a typedef
template. For example:
template <typename First, typename Second, int Third>
class SomeType;

template <typename Second>
typedef SomeType<OtherType, Second, 5> TypedefName; // Illegal in C++03
This will not compile.
C++11 adds this ability with the following syntax:
template <typename First, typename Second, int Third>
class SomeType;

template <typename Second>
using TypedefName = SomeType<OtherType, Second, 5>;
The using syntax can be also used as type aliasing in C++11:
typedef void (*FunctionType)(double); // Old style
using FunctionType = void (*)(double); // New introduced syntax
Unrestricted unions
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In C++03, there are restrictions on what types of objects can be members of a union. For example, unions
cannot contain any objects that define a non-trivial constructor. C++11 lifts some of these restrictions.
[3]
Unions can now contain objects that have a non-trivial constructor.
If so, the implicit default constructor of the union is deleted, forcing a manual definition.
This is a simple example of a union permitted in C++11:
#include <new> // Required for placement 'new'.

struct Point {
Point() {}
Point(int x, int y): x_(x), y_(y) {}
int x_, y_;
};

union U {
int z;
double w;
Point p; // Illegal in C++03; legal in C++11.
U() {new(&p) Point();} // Due to the Point member, a constructor definition is now required.
};
The changes will not break any existing code since they only relax current rules.
Core language functionality improvements
These features allow the language to do things that were previously impossible, exceedingly verbose, or
required non-portable libraries.
Variadic templates
Main article: variadic templates
In C++11, templates can take variable numbers of template parameters. This also allows the definition of
type-safe variadic functions.
New string literals
C++03 offers two kinds of string literals. The first kind, contained within double quotes, produces a null-
terminated array of type const char. The second kind, defined as L"", produces a null-terminated array
of type const wchar_t, where wchar_t is a wide-character of undefined size and semantics. Neither
literal type offers support for string literals with UTF-8, UTF-16, or any other kind of Unicode encodings.
The definition of the type char has been modified to explicitly express that it's at least the size necessary to
store an eight-bit coding of UTF-8, and large enough to contain any member of the compiler's basic
execution character set. It was previously defined as only the latter in the C++ standard itself, then relying
on the C standard to guarantee at least 8 bits.
There are three Unicode encodings that C++11 supports: UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. In addition to the
previously noted changes to the definition of char, C++11 adds two new character types: char16_t and
char32_t. These are designed to store UTF-16 and UTF-32 respectively.
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The following shows how to create string literals for each of these encodings:
u8"I'm a UTF-8 string."
u"This is a UTF-16 string."
U"This is a UTF-32 string."
The type of the first string is the usual const char[]. The type of the second string is const
char16_t[]. The type of the third string is const char32_t[].
When building Unicode string literals, it is often useful to insert Unicode codepoints directly into the string.
To do this, C++11 allows the following syntax:
u8"This is a Unicode Character: \u2018."
u"This is a bigger Unicode Character: \u2018."
U"This is a Unicode Character: \U00002018."
The number after the \u is a hexadecimal number; it does not need the usual 0x prefix. The identifier \u
represents a 16-bit Unicode codepoint; to enter a 32-bit codepoint, use \U and a 32-bit hexadecimal
number. Only valid Unicode codepoints can be entered. For example, codepoints on the range U+D800
U+DFFF are forbidden, as they are reserved for surrogate pairs in UTF-16 encodings.
It is also sometimes useful to avoid escaping strings manually, particularly for using literals of XML files,
scripting languages, or regular expressions. C++11 provides a raw string literal:
R"(The String Data \ Stuff " )"
R"delimiter(The String Data \ Stuff " )delimiter"
In the first case, everything between the "( and the )" is part of the string. The " and \ characters do not
need to be escaped. In the second case, the "delimiter( starts the string, and it ends only when
)delimiter" is reached. The string delimiter can be any string up to 16 characters in length, including
the empty string. This string cannot contain spaces, control characters, '(', ')', or the '\' character. The use
of this delimiter string allows the user to have ")" characters within raw string literals. For example,
R"delimiter((a-z))delimiter" is equivalent to "(a-z)".
[4]
Raw string literals can be combined with the wide literal or any of the Unicode literal prefixes:
u8R"XXX(I'm a "raw UTF-8" string.)XXX"
uR"*(This is a "raw UTF-16" string.)*"
UR"(This is a "raw UTF-32" string.)"
User-defined literals
C++03 provides a number of literals. The characters 12.5 are a literal that is resolved by the compiler as
a type double with the value of 12.5. However, the addition of the suffix f, as in 12.5f, creates a
value of type float that contains the value 12.5. The suffix modifiers for literals are fixed by the C++
specification, and C++ code cannot create new literal modifiers.
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C++11 also includes the ability for the user to define new kinds of literal modifiers that will construct
objects based on the string of characters that the literal modifies.
Literals transformation is redefined into two distinct phases: raw and cooked. A raw literal is a sequence of
characters of some specific type, while the cooked literal is of a separate type. The C++ literal 1234, as a
raw literal, is this sequence of characters '1', '2', '3', '4'. As a cooked literal, it is the integer 1234. The
C++ literal 0xA in raw form is '0', 'x', 'A', while in cooked form it is the integer 10.
Literals can be extended in both raw and cooked forms, with the exception of string literals, which can be
processed only in cooked form. This exception is due to the fact that strings have prefixes that affect the
specific meaning and type of the characters in question.
All user-defined literals are suffixes; defining prefix literals is not possible. All suffixes beginning with any
character except underscore (_) are reserved by the standard. Therefore, all user-defined literals have
suffixes beginning with an underscore (_).
User-defined literals processing the raw form of the literal are defined as follows:
OutputType operator "" _suffix(const char * literal_string);

OutputType some_variable = 1234_suffix;
The second statement executes the code defined by the user-defined literal function. This function is
passed "1234" as a C-style string, so it has a null terminator.
An alternative mechanism for processing integer and floating point raw literals is through a variadic
template:
template<char...> OutputType operator "" _tuffix();

OutputType some_variable = 1234_tuffix;
OutputType another_variable = 2.17_tuffix;
This instantiates the literal processing function as operator "" _tuffix<'1', '2', '3', '4'>(). In
this form, there is no terminating null character to the string. The main purpose for doing this is to use
C++11's constexpr keyword and the compiler to allow the literal to be transformed entirely at compile
time, assuming OutputType is a constexpr-constructable and copyable type, and the literal processing
function is a constexpr function.
For numeric literals, the type of the cooked literal is either unsigned long long for integral literals or
long double for floating point literals. (Note: There is no need for signed integral types because a sign-
prefixed literal is parsed as an expression containing the sign as a unary prefix operator and the unsigned
number.) There is no alternative template form:
OutputType operator "" _suffix(unsigned long long);
OutputType operator "" _suffix(long double);

OutputType some_variable = 1234_suffix; // Uses the 'unsigned long long' overload.
OutputType another_variable = 3.1416_suffix; // Uses the 'long double' overload.
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For string literals, the following are used, in accordance with the previously mentioned new string prefixes:
OutputType operator "" _ssuffix(const char * string_values, size_t num_chars);
OutputType operator "" _ssuffix(const wchar_t * string_values, size_t num_chars);
OutputType operator "" _ssuffix(const char16_t * string_values, size_t num_chars);
OutputType operator "" _ssuffix(const char32_t * string_values, size_t num_chars);

OutputType some_variable = "1234"_ssuffix; // Uses the 'const char *' overload.
OutputType some_variable = u8"1234"_ssuffix; // Uses the 'const char *' overload.
OutputType some_variable = L"1234"_ssuffix; // Uses the 'const wchar_t *' overload.
OutputType some_variable = u"1234"_ssuffix; // Uses the 'const char16_t *' overload.
OutputType some_variable = U"1234"_ssuffix; // Uses the 'const char32_t *' overload.
There is no alternative template form. Character literals are defined similarly.
Multithreading memory model
See also: Memory model (computing)
The C++11 standardizes support for multithreaded programming.
There are two parts involved: a memory model which allows multiple threads to co-exist in a program and
library support for interaction between threads. (See this article's section on threading facilities.)
The memory model defines when multiple threads may access the same memory location, and specifies
when updates by one thread become visible to other threads.
Thread-local storage
In a multi-threaded environment, it is common for every thread to have some unique variables. This
already happens for the local variables of a function, but it does not happen for global and static variables.
A new thread-local storage duration (in addition to the existing static, dynamic and automatic) is indicated
by the storage specifier thread_local.
Any object which could have static storage duration (i.e., lifetime spanning the entire execution of the
program) may be given thread-local duration instead. The intent is that like any other static-duration
variable, a thread-local object can be initialized using a constructor and destroyed using a destructor.
Explicitly defaulted and deleted special member functions
In C++03, the compiler provides, for classes that do not provide them for themselves, a default constructor,
a copy constructor, a copy assignment operator (operator=), and a destructor. The programmer can
override these defaults by defining custom versions. C++ also defines several global operators (such as
operator new) that work on all classes, which the programmer can override.
However, there is very little control over the creation of these defaults. Making a class inherently non-
copyable, for example, requires declaring a private copy constructor and copy assignment operator and not
defining them. Attempting to use these functions is a violation of the One Definition Rule (ODR). While a
diagnostic message is not required,
[10]
violations may result in a linker error.
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In the case of the default constructor, the compiler will not generate a default constructor if a class is
defined with any constructors. This is useful in many cases, but it is also useful to be able to have both
specialized constructors and the compiler-generated default.
C++11 allows the explicit defaulting and deleting of these special member functions.
[11]
For example, the
following type explicitly declares that it is using the default constructor:
struct SomeType {
SomeType() = default; //The default constructor is explicitly stated.
SomeType(OtherType value);
};
Alternatively, certain features can be explicitly disabled. For example, the following type is non-copyable:
struct NonCopyable {
NonCopyable() = default;
NonCopyable(const NonCopyable&) = delete;
NonCopyable & operator=(const NonCopyable&) = delete;
};
The = delete specifier can be used to prohibit calling any function, which can be used to disallow calling
a member function with particular parameters. For example:
struct NoInt {
void f(double i);
void f(int) = delete;
};
An attempt to call f() with an int will be rejected by the compiler, instead of performing a silent
conversion to double. This can be generalized to disallow calling the function with any type other than
double as follows:
struct OnlyDouble {
void f(double d);
template<class T> void f(T) = delete;
};
Type long long int
In C++03, the largest integer type is long int. It is guaranteed to have at least as many usable bits as int.
This resulted in long int having size of 64 bits on some popular implementations and 32 bits on others.
C++11 adds a new integer type long long int to address this issue. It is guaranteed to be at least as large
as a long int, and have no fewer than 64 bits. The type was originally introduced by C99 to the standard
C, and most C++ compilers support it as an extension already.
[12][13]
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Static assertions
C++03 provides two methods to test assertions: the macro assert and the preprocessor directive #error.
However, neither is appropriate for use in templates: the macro tests the assertion at execution-time, while
the preprocessor directive tests the assertion during preprocessing, which happens before instantiation of
templates. Neither is appropriate for testing properties that are dependent on template parameters.
The new utility introduces a new way to test assertions at compile-time, using the new keyword
static_assert. The declaration assumes the following form:
static_assert (constant-expression, error-message);
Here are some examples of how static_assert can be used:
static_assert((GREEKPI > 3.14) && (GREEKPI < 3.15), "GREEKPI is inaccurate!");
template<class T>
struct Check {
static_assert(sizeof(int) <= sizeof(T), "T is not big enough!");
};
template<class Integral>
Integral foo(Integral x, Integral y) {
static_assert(std::is_integral<Integral>::value, "foo() parameter must be an integral type."
}
When the constant expression is false the compiler produces an error message. The first example is
similar to the preprocessor directive #error, although the preprocessor does only support integral
types.
[14]
In contrast, in the second example the assertion is checked at every instantiation of the template
class Check.
Static assertions are useful outside of templates as well. For instance, a particular implementation of an
algorithm might depend on the size of a long long being larger than an int, something the standard does
not guarantee. Such an assumption is valid on most systems and compilers, but not all.
Allow sizeof to work on members of classes without an explicit object
In C++03, the sizeof operator can be used on types and objects. But it cannot be used to do the
following:
struct SomeType { OtherType member; };

sizeof(SomeType::member); // Does not work with C++03. Okay with C++11
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This should return the size of OtherType. C++03 does not allow this, so it is a compile error. C++11 does
allow it. It is also allowed for the alignof operator introduced in C++11.
Control and query object alignment
C++11 allows variable alignment to be queried and controlled with alignof and alignas.
The alignof operator takes a type and returns the power of 2 byte boundary on which the type instances
must be allocated (as a std::size_t). When given a reference type alignof returns the referenced type's
alignment; for arrays it returns the element type's alignment.
The alignas specifier controls the memory alignment for a variable. The specifier takes a constant or a
type; when supplied a type alignas(T) is shorthand for alignas(alignof(T)). For example, to specify
that a char array should be properly aligned to hold a float:
alignas(float) unsigned char c[sizeof(float)]
Allow garbage collected implementations
Previous C++ standards provided for programmer-driven garbage collection via set_new_handler, but
gave no definition of object reachability for the purpose of automatic garbage collection. C++11 defines
conditions under which pointer values are "safely derived" from other values. An implementation may
specify that it operates under "strict pointer safety," in which case pointers that are not derived according to
these rules can become invalid.
Attributes
C++11 provides a standardized syntax for compiler/tool extensions to the language. Such extensions were
traditionally specified using #pragma directive or vendor-specific keywords (like __attribute__ for
GNU and __declspec for Microsoft). With the new syntax, additional information can be specified in a
form of an attribute enclosed in double square brackets. An attribute can be applied to various elements of
source code:
int [[attr1]] i [[attr2, attr3]];

[[attr4(arg1, arg2)]] if (cond)
{
[[vendor::attr5]] return i;
}
In the example above, attribute attr1 applies to the type of variable i, attr2 and attr3 apply to the
variable itself, attr4 applies to the if statement and vendor::attr5 applies to the return statement. In
general (but with some exceptions), an attribute specified for a named entity is placed after the name, and
before the entity otherwise. As shown above, several attributes may be listed inside one pair of double
square brackets, additional arguments may be provided for an attribute and attributes may be scoped by
vendor-specific attribute namespaces.
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It is recommended that attributes do not have any language semantic meaning and don't change the sense
of a program when ignored. Attributes can be useful for providing information that, for example, helps the
compiler to issue better diagnostics or optimize the generated code.
C++11 provides two standard attributes itself: noreturn to specify that a function does not return, and
carries_dependency to help optimizing multi-threaded code by indicating that function arguments or
return value carry a dependency.
C++ standard library changes
A number of new features were introduced in the C++11 standard library. Many of these could have been
implemented under the old standard, but some rely (to a greater or lesser extent) on new C++11 core
features.
A large part of the new libraries was defined in the document C++ Standards Committee's Library
Technical Report (called TR1), which was published in 2005. Various full and partial implementations of
TR1 are currently available using the namespace std::tr1. For C++11 they were moved to namespace
std. However, as TR1 features were brought into the C++11 standard library, they were upgraded where
appropriate with C++11 language features that were not available in the initial TR1 version. Also, they
may have been enhanced with features that were possible under C++03, but were not part of the original
TR1 specification.
The committee intends to create a second technical report (called TR2) now that standardization of C++11
is complete. Library proposals which were not ready in time for C++11 will be put into TR2 or further
technical reports.
Upgrades to standard library components
C++11 offers a number of new language features that the currently existing standard library components
can benefit from. For example, most standard library containers can benefit from Rvalue reference based
move constructor support, both for quickly moving heavy containers around and for moving the contents
of those containers to new memory locations. The standard library components were upgraded with new
C++11 language features where appropriate. These include, but are not necessarily limited to:
Rvalue references and the associated move support
Support for the UTF-16 encoding unit, and UTF-32 encoding unit Unicode character types
Variadic templates (coupled with Rvalue references to allow for perfect forwarding)
Compile-time constant expressions
decltype
explicit conversion operators
default/deleted functions
Additionally, much time has passed since the previous C++ standard. A great deal of code using the
standard library has been written; this has revealed portions of the standard libraries that could use some
improvement. Among the many areas of improvement considered were standard library allocators. A new
scope-based model of allocators was included in C++11 to supplement the previous model.
Threading facilities
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While the C++03 language provides a memory model that supports threading, the primary support for
actually using threading comes with the C++11 standard library.
A thread class (std::thread) is provided which takes a function object and an optional series of
arguments to pass to it to run in the new thread. It is possible to cause a thread to halt until another
executing thread completes, providing thread joining support through the std::thread::join() member
function. Access is provided, where feasible, to the underlying native thread object(s) for platform specific
operations by the std::thread::native_handle() member function.
For synchronization between threads, appropriate mutexes (std::mutex, std::recursive_mutex, etc.)
and condition variables (std::condition_variable and std::condition_variable_any) are added to
the library. These are accessible through RAII locks (std::lock_guard and std::unique_lock) and
locking algorithms for easy use.
For high-performance, low-level work, it is sometimes necessary to communicate between threads without
the overhead of mutexes. This is achieved using atomic operations on memory locations. These can
optionally specify the minimum memory visibility constraints required for an operation. Explicit memory
barriers may also be used for this purpose.
The C++11 thread library also includes futures and promises for passing asynchronous results between
threads, and std::packaged_task for wrapping up a function call that can generate such an
asynchronous result. The futures proposal was criticized because it lacks a way to combine futures and
check for the completion of one promise inside a set of promises.
[15]
Further high-level threading facilities such as thread pools have been remanded to a future C++ technical
report. They are not part of C++11, but their eventual implementation is expected to be built entirely on top
of the thread library features.
The new std::async facility provides a convenient method of running tasks and tying them to a
std::future. The user can choose whether the task is to be run asynchronously on a separate thread or
synchronously on a thread that waits for the value. By default, the implementation can choose, which
provides an easy way to take advantage of hardware concurrency without oversubscription, and provides
some of the advantages of a thread pool for simple usages.
Tuple types
Tuples are collections composed of heterogeneous objects of pre-arranged dimensions. A tuple can be
considered a generalization of a struct's member variables.
The C++11 version of the TR1 tuple type benefited from C++11 features like variadic templates. The TR1
version required an implementation-defined maximum number of contained types, and required substantial
macro trickery to implement reasonably. By contrast, the implementation of the C++11 version requires no
explicit implementation-defined maximum number of types. Though compilers will have an internal
maximum recursion depth for template instantiation (which is normal), the C++11 version of tuples will
not expose this value to the user.
Using variadic templates, the declaration of the tuple class looks as follows:
template <class ...Types> class tuple;
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An example of definition and use of the tuple type:
typedef std::tuple <int, double, long &, const char *> test_tuple;
long lengthy = 12;
test_tuple proof (18, 6.5, lengthy, "Ciao!");

lengthy = std::get<0>(proof); // Assign to 'lengthy' the value 18.
std::get<3>(proof) = " Beautiful!"; // Modify the tuples fourth element.
Its possible to create the tuple proof without defining its contents, but only if the tuple elements' types
possess default constructors. Moreover, its possible to assign a tuple to another tuple: if the two tuples
types are the same, it is necessary that each element type possesses a copy constructor; otherwise, it is
necessary that each element type of the right-side tuple is convertible to that of the corresponding element
type of the left-side tuple or that the corresponding element type of the left-side tuple has a suitable
constructor.
typedef std::tuple <int , double, string > tuple_1 t1;
typedef std::tuple <char, short , const char * > tuple_2 t2 ('X', 2, "Hola!");
t1 = t2; // Ok, first two elements can be converted,
// the third one can be constructed from a 'const char *'.
Just like std::make_pair for std::pair, there exists std::make_tuple to automatically create
std::tuples using type deduction and auto helps to declare such a tuple. std::tie creates tuples of
lvalue references to help unpack tuples. std::ignore also helps here. See the example:
auto record = std::make_tuple("Hari Ram", "New Delhi", 3.5, 'A');
std::string name ; float gpa ; char grade ;
std::tie(name, std::ignore, gpa, grade) = record ; // std::ignore helps drop the place name
std::cout << name << ' ' << gpa << ' ' << grade << std::endl ;
Relational operators are available (among tuples with the same number of elements), and two expressions
are available to check a tuples characteristics (only during compilation):
std::tuple_size<T>::value returns the number of elements in the tuple T,
std::tuple_element<I, T>::type returns the type of the object number I of the tuple T.
Hash tables
Including hash tables (unordered associative containers) in the C++ standard library is one of the most
recurring requests. It was not adopted in C++03 due to time constraints only. Although hash tables are less
efficient than a balanced tree in the worst case (in the presence of many collisions), they perform better in
many real applications.
Collisions are managed only through linear chaining because the committee didn't consider it to be
opportune to standardize solutions of open addressing that introduce quite a lot of intrinsic problems
(above all when erasure of elements is admitted). To avoid name clashes with non-standard libraries that
developed their own hash table implementations, the prefix unordered was used instead of hash.
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The new library has four types of hash tables, differentiated by whether or not they accept elements with
the same key (unique keys or equivalent keys), and whether they map each key to an associated value.
They correspond to the four existing binary-search-tree-based associative containers, with an unordered_
prefix.
Type of hash table Associated values Equivalent keys
std::unordered_set No No
std::unordered_multiset No Yes
std::unordered_map Yes No
std::unordered_multimap Yes Yes
The new classes fulfill all the requirements of a container class, and have all the methods necessary to
access elements: insert, erase, begin, end.
This new feature didn't need any C++ language core extensions (though implementations will take
advantage of various C++11 language features), only a small extension of the header <functional> and
the introduction of headers <unordered_set> and <unordered_map>. No other changes to any existing
standard classes were needed, and it doesnt depend on any other extensions of the standard library.
Regular expressions
The new library, defined in the new header <regex>, is made of a couple of new classes:
regular expressions are represented by instance of the template class std::regex;
occurrences are represented by instance of the template class std::match_results.
The function std::regex_search is used for searching, while for search and replace the function
std::regex_replace is used which returns a new string. The algorithms std::regex_search and
std::regex_replace take a regular expression and a string and write the occurrences found in the struct
std::match_results.
Here is an example of the use of std::match_results:
const char *reg_esp = "[ ,.\\t\\n;:]"; // List of separator characters.

// this can be done using raw string literals:
// const char *reg_esp = R"([ ,.\t\n;:])";

std::regex rgx(reg_esp); // 'regex' is an instance of the template class
// 'basic_regex' with argument of type 'char'.
std::cmatch match; // 'cmatch' is an instance of the template class
// 'match_results' with argument of type 'const char *'.
const char *target = "Unseen University - Ankh-Morpork";

// Identifies all words of 'target' separated by characters of 'reg_esp'.
if (std::regex_search(target, match, rgx)) {
// If words separated by specified characters are present.

const size_t n = match.size();
for (size_t a = 0; a < n; a++) {
std::string str (match[a].first, match[a].second);
std::cout << str << "\n";
}
}
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Note the use of double backslashes, because C++ uses backslash as an escape character. The C++11 raw
string feature could be used to avoid the problem.
The library <regex> requires neither alteration of any existing header (though it will use them where
appropriate) nor an extension of the core language.
General-purpose smart pointers
Main article: C++ Smart Pointers
C++11 provides std::unique_ptr, as well as improvements to std::shared_ptr and
std::weak_ptr from TR1. std::auto_ptr is deprecated.
Extensible random number facility
The C standard library provides the ability to generate pseudorandom numbers through the function rand.
However, the algorithm is delegated entirely to the library vendor. C++ inherited this functionality with no
changes, but C++11 provides a new method for generating pseudorandom numbers.
C++11's random number functionality is split into two parts: a generator engine that contains the random
number generator's state and produces the pseudorandom numbers; and a distribution, which determines
the range and mathematical distribution of the outcome. These two are combined to form a random number
generator object.
Unlike the C standard rand, the C++11 mechanism will come with three base generator engine algorithms:
linear_congruential_engine,
subtract_with_carry_engine, and
mersenne_twister_engine.
C++11 also provides a number of standard distributions:
uniform_int_distribution,
uniform_real_distribution,
bernoulli_distribution,
binomial_distribution,
geometric_distribution,
negative_binomial_distribution,
poisson_distribution,
exponential_distribution,
gamma_distribution,
weibull_distribution,
extreme_value_distribution,
normal_distribution,
lognormal_distribution,
chi_squared_distribution,
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cauchy_distribution,
fisher_f_distribution,
student_t_distribution,
discrete_distribution,
piecewise_constant_distribution and
piecewise_linear_distribution.
The generator and distributions are combined as in the following example:
#include <random>
#include <functional>

std::uniform_int_distribution<int> distribution(0, 99);
std::mt19937 engine; // Mersenne twister MT19937
auto generator = std::bind(distribution, engine);
int random = generator(); // Generate a uniform integral variate between 0 and 99.
int random2 = distribution(engine); // Generate another sample directly using the distribution and the engine objects.
Wrapper reference
A wrapper reference is obtained from an instance of the template class reference_wrapper. Wrapper
references are similar to normal references (&) of the C++ language. To obtain a wrapper reference from
any object the function template ref is used (for a constant reference cref is used).
Wrapper references are useful above all for function templates, where references to parameters rather than
copies are needed:
// This function will obtain a reference to the parameter 'r' and increment it.
void func (int &r) { r++; }

// Template function.
template<class F, class P> void g (F f, P t) { f(t); }

int main()
{
int i = 0;
g (func, i); // 'g<void (int &r), int>' is instantiated
// then 'i' will not be modified.
std::cout << i << std::endl; // Output -> 0

g (func, std::ref(i)); // 'g<void(int &r),reference_wrapper<int>>' is instantiated
// then 'i' will be modified.
std::cout << i << std::endl; // Output -> 1
}
This new utility was added to the existing <utility> header and didn't need further extensions of the C++
language.
Polymorphic wrappers for function objects
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Polymorphic wrappers for function objects are similar to function pointers in semantics and syntax, but are
less tightly bound and can indiscriminately refer to anything which can be called (function pointers,
member function pointers, or functors) whose arguments are compatible with those of the wrapper.
Through the example it is possible to understand its characteristics:
std::function<int (int, int)> func; // Wrapper creation using
// template class 'function'.
std::plus<int> add; // 'plus' is declared as 'template<class T> T plus( T, T ) ;'
// then 'add' is type 'int add( int x, int y )'.
func = add; // OK - Parameters and return types are the same.

int a = func (1, 2); // NOTE: if the wrapper 'func' does not refer to any function,
// the exception 'std::bad_function_call' is thrown.

std::function<bool (short, short)> func2 ;
if (!func2) { // True because 'func2' has not yet been assigned a function.

bool adjacent(long x, long y);
func2 = &adjacent; // OK - Parameters and return types are convertible.

struct Test {
bool operator()(short x, short y);
};
Test car;
func = std::ref(car); // 'std::ref' is a template function that returns the wrapper
// of member function 'operator()' of struct 'car'.
}
func = func2; // OK - Parameters and return types are convertible.
The template class function was defined inside the header <functional>, and didn't require any
changes to the C++ language.
Type traits for metaprogramming
Metaprogramming consists of creating a program that creates or modifies another program (or itself). This
can happen during compilation or during execution. The C++ Standards Committee has decided to
introduce a library that allows metaprogramming during compilation through templates.
Here is an example of a meta-program, using the C++03 standard: a recursion of template instances for
calculating integer exponents:
template<int B, int N>
struct Pow {
// recursive call and recombination.
enum{ value = B*Pow<B, N-1>::value };
};

template< int B >
struct Pow<B, 0> {
// ''N == 0'' condition of termination.
enum{ value = 1 };
};
int quartic_of_three = Pow<3, 4>::value;
Many algorithms can operate on different types of data; C++'s templates support generic programming and
make code more compact and useful. Nevertheless it is common for algorithms to need information on the
data types being used. This information can be extracted during instantiation of a template class using type
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traits.
Type traits can identify the category of an object and all the characteristics of a class (or of a struct). They
are defined in the new header <type_traits>.
In the next example there is the template function elaborate that, depending on the given data types, will
instantiate one of the two proposed algorithms (algorithm.do_it).
// First way of operating.
template< bool B > struct Algorithm {
template<class T1, class T2> static int do_it (T1 &, T2 &) { /*...*/ }
};

// Second way of operating.
template<> struct Algorithm<true> {
template<class T1, class T2> static int do_it (T1, T2) { /*...*/ }
};

// Instantiating 'elaborate' will automatically instantiate the correct way to operate.
template<class T1, class T2>
int elaborate (T1 A, T2 B)
{
// Use the second way only if 'T1' is an integer and if 'T2' is
// in floating point, otherwise use the first way.
return Algorithm<std::is_integral<T1>::value && std::is_floating_point<T2>::value>::do_it( A, B
}
Through type traits, defined in header <type_traits>, its also possible to create type transformation
operations (static_cast and const_cast are insufficient inside a template).
This type of programming produces elegant and concise code; however the weak point of these techniques
is the debugging: uncomfortable during compilation and very difficult during program execution.
Uniform method for computing the return type of function objects
Determining the return type of a template function object at compile-time is not intuitive, particularly if the
return value depends on the parameters of the function. As an example:
struct Clear {
int operator()(int) const; // The parameter type is
double operator()(double) const; // equal to the return type.
};

template <class Obj>
class Calculus {
public:
template<class Arg> Arg operator()(Arg& a) const {
return member(a);
}
private:
Obj member;
};
Instantiating the class template Calculus<Clear>, the function object of calculus will have always the
same return type as the function object of Clear. However, given class Confused below:
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struct Confused {
double operator()(int) const; // The parameter type is not
int operator()(double) const; // equal to the return type.
};
Attempting to instantiate Calculus<Confused> will cause the return type of Calculus to not be the same
as that of class Confused. The compiler may generate warnings about the conversion from int to double
and vice-versa.
TR1 introduces, and C++11 adopts, the template class std::result_of that allows one to determine and
use the return type of a function object for every declaration. The object CalculusVer2 uses the
std::result_of object to derive the return type of the function object:
template< class Obj >
class CalculusVer2 {
public:
template<class Arg>
typename std::result_of<Obj(Arg)>::type operator()(Arg& a) const {
return member(a);
}
private:
Obj member;
};
In this way in instances of function object of CalculusVer2<Confused> there are no conversions,
warnings, or errors.
The only change from the TR1 version of std::result_of is that the TR1 version allowed an
implementation to fail to be able to determine the result type of a function call. Due to changes to C++ for
supporting decltype, the C++11 version of std::result_of no longer needs these special cases;
implementations are required to compute a type in all cases.
Features originally planned but removed or not included
Heading for a separate TR:
Modules (http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2012/n3347.pdf)
Decimal Types
Math Special Functions
Postponed:
Concepts
More complete or required garbage collection support
Reflection
Macro Scopes
Features removed or deprecated
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The term sequence point was removed, being replaced by specifying that either one operation is sequenced
before another, or that two operations are unsequenced.
[16]
The former use of the keyword export was removed.
[17]
The keyword itself remains, being reserved for
potential future use.
Dynamic exception specifications are deprecated.
[17]
Compile time specification of non-exception
throwing functions is available with the noexcept keyword, which is useful for optimization.
std::auto_ptr is deprecated, having been superseded by std::unique_ptr.
Function object base classes (std::unary_function, std::binary_function), adapters to pointers to
functions and adapters to pointers to members, and binder classes are all deprecated.
See also
C++ Technical Report 1 (2007)
C99
C11
C++14
References
1. ^ "We have an international standard: C++0x is unanimously approved" (http://herbsutter.com/2011/08/12/we-
have-an-international-standard-c0x-is-unanimously-approved/). Retrieved 12 August 2011.
2. ^ "Bjarne Stroustrup: A C++0x overview" (http://www.research.ibm.com/arl/seminar/media/stroustrup.pdf).
Retrieved 30 June 2011.
3. ^ "ISO/IEC 14882:2011" (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?
csnumber=50372). ISO. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
4. ^ "Working Draft, Standard for Programming Language C++" (http://www.open-
std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2012/n3337.pdf).
5. ^ "The Standard" (http://isocpp.org/std/the-standard). Retrieved 2012-11-02.
6. ^ "Next C++ standard to arrive in 2017" (http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Next-C-standard-to-arrive-
in-2017-1743138.html).
7. ^ Sutter, Alexandrescu "C++ coding standards" #15
8. ^ Gabriel Dos Reis and Bjarne Stroustrup (22 March 2010). "General Constant Expressions for System
Programming Languages, Proceedings SAC 10" (http://www.stroustrup.com/sac10-constexpr.pdf).
9. ^ "Document no: N1968=06-0038- Lambda expressions and closures for C++" (http://www.open-
std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2006/n1968.pdf). Open Standards.
10. ^ ISO/IEC (2003). ISO/IEC 14882:2003(E): Programming Languages C++ 3.2 One definition rule
[basic.def.odr] para. 3
11. ^ "Defaulted and Deleted Functions ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG21 N2210 = 07-0070 2007-03-11"
(http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n2210.html#%22default%22).
12. ^ Long Long Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) (http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Long-
15/5/2014 C++11 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C++11 36/36
Long.html)
13. ^ Data Type Ranges (C++) (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/s3f49ktz(VS.80).aspx)
14. ^ Samuel P. Harbison III, Guy L. Steele Jr.: "C A Reference Manual", 5th edition, p.251
15. ^ Milewski, Bartosz (3 March 2009). "Broken promisesC++0x futures"
(http://bartoszmilewski.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/broken-promises-c0x-futures/). Retrieved 24 January 2010.
16. ^ Caves, Jonathan (4 June 2007). "Update on the C++-0x Language Standard"
(http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vcblog/archive/2007/06/04/update-on-the-c-0x-language-standard.aspx). Retrieved 25
May 2010.
17. ^
a

b
Sutter, Herb (3 March 2010). "Trip Report: March 2010 ISO C++ Standards Meeting"
(http://herbsutter.com/2010/03/13/trip-report-march-2010-iso-c-standards-meeting/). Retrieved 24 March 2010.
External links
The C++ Standards Committee (http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/)
C++0X: The New Face of Standard C++ (http://www.informit.com/guides/content.aspx?
g=cplusplus&seqNum=216)
Herb Sutter's blog coverage of C++11 (http://herbsutter.wordpress.com/)
Anthony Williams' blog coverage of C++11 (http://www.justsoftwaresolutions.co.uk/cplusplus/)
A talk on C++0x given by Bjarne Stroustrup at the University of Waterloo
(http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/media/C++0x%20-%20An%20Overview.html)
The State of the Language: An Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup (15 August 2008)
(http://www.devx.com/SpecialReports/Article/38813/0/page/1)
Wiki page to help keep track of C++ 0x core language features and their availability in compilers
(http://wiki.apache.org/stdcxx/C++0xCompilerSupport)
Online C++11 standard library reference (http://en.cppreference.com)
Online C++11 compiler (http://stacked-crooked.com/)
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