Bjarne Stroustrup
Texas A&M University
www.research.att.com/~bs
Abstract
This paper outlines the history of the C++ programming language
from the early days of its ISO standardization (1991),
through the 1998 ISO standard, to the later stages of the
C++0x revision of that standard (2006). The emphasis is on
the ideals, constraints, programming techniques, and people
that shaped the language, rather than the minutiae of language
features. Among the major themes are the emergence
of generic programming and the STL (the C++ standard library’s
algorithms and containers). Specific topics include
separate compilation of templates, exception handling, and
support for embedded systems programming. During most
of the period covered here, C++ was a mature language with
millions of users. Consequently, this paper discusses various
uses of C++ and the technical and commercial pressure
