darling-libcxx/docs/index.rst
Eric Fiselier f68c6d52a1 Make GCC in C++03 Unsupported
Summary:
This patch make G++03 explicitly unsupported with libc++, as discussed on the mailing lists.


Below is the rational for this decision.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

libc++ claims to support GCC with C++03 ("G++03"), and this is a problem for our users.

Our C++03 users are all using Clang. They must be.  Less than 9% of the C++03 tests pass with GCC [1][2]. No non-trivial C++ program could work.

Attempting to support G++03 impacts our QoI considerably. Unlike Clang, G++03 offers almost no C++11 extensions. If we could remove all the fallbacks for G++03, it would mean libc++ could::

* Improve Correctness:

Every `#ifdef _LIBCPP_HAS_NO_<C++11-feature>` is a bug manifest. It exists to admit for deviant semantics.

* Achieve ABI stability between C++03 and C++11

Differences between our C++03 and C++Rest branches contain ABI bugs. For example `std::nullptr_t` and `std::function::operator()(...)` are currently incompatible between C++11 and C++03, but could be fixed.

* Decrease Compile Times and Memory Usage:

Writing efficient SFINAE requires C++11. Using alias templates, libc++ could reduce the number of instantiations it produces substantially.

* Decrease Binary Size

Similar to the last point, G++03 forces metaprogramming techniques that emit more debug information [3] [4]. Compared to libstdc++, debug information size increases of +10% are not uncommon.

Reviewers: ldionne, mclow.lists, EricWF

Reviewed By: ldionne, EricWF

Subscribers: zoecarver, aprantl, dexonsmith, arphaman, libcxx-commits, #libc

Differential Revision: https://reviews.llvm.org/D63154

git-svn-id: https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxx/trunk@363219 91177308-0d34-0410-b5e6-96231b3b80d8
2019-06-13 00:37:25 +00:00

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.. _index:
=============================
"libc++" C++ Standard Library
=============================
Overview
========
libc++ is a new implementation of the C++ standard library, targeting C++11 and
above.
* Features and Goals
* Correctness as defined by the C++11 standard.
* Fast execution.
* Minimal memory use.
* Fast compile times.
* ABI compatibility with gcc's libstdc++ for some low-level features
such as exception objects, rtti and memory allocation.
* Extensive unit tests.
* Design and Implementation:
* Extensive unit tests
* Internal linker model can be dumped/read to textual format
* Additional linking features can be plugged in as "passes"
* OS specific and CPU specific code factored out
Getting Started with libc++
---------------------------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 2
ReleaseNotes
UsingLibcxx
BuildingLibcxx
TestingLibcxx
.. toctree::
:hidden:
FeatureTestMacroTable
Current Status
--------------
After its initial introduction, many people have asked "why start a new
library instead of contributing to an existing library?" (like Apache's
libstdcxx, GNU's libstdc++, STLport, etc). There are many contributing
reasons, but some of the major ones are:
* From years of experience (including having implemented the standard
library before), we've learned many things about implementing
the standard containers which require ABI breakage and fundamental changes
to how they are implemented. For example, it is generally accepted that
building std::string using the "short string optimization" instead of
using Copy On Write (COW) is a superior approach for multicore
machines (particularly in C++11, which has rvalue references). Breaking
ABI compatibility with old versions of the library was
determined to be critical to achieving the performance goals of
libc++.
* Mainline libstdc++ has switched to GPL3, a license which the developers
of libc++ cannot use. libstdc++ 4.2 (the last GPL2 version) could be
independently extended to support C++11, but this would be a fork of the
codebase (which is often seen as worse for a project than starting a new
independent one). Another problem with libstdc++ is that it is tightly
integrated with G++ development, tending to be tied fairly closely to the
matching version of G++.
* STLport and the Apache libstdcxx library are two other popular
candidates, but both lack C++11 support. Our experience (and the
experience of libstdc++ developers) is that adding support for C++11 (in
particular rvalue references and move-only types) requires changes to
almost every class and function, essentially amounting to a rewrite.
Faced with a rewrite, we decided to start from scratch and evaluate every
design decision from first principles based on experience.
Further, both projects are apparently abandoned: STLport 5.2.1 was
released in Oct'08, and STDCXX 4.2.1 in May'08.
Platform and Compiler Support
-----------------------------
libc++ is known to work on the following platforms, using gcc and
clang.
Note that functionality provided by ``<atomic>`` is only functional with clang
and GCC.
============ ==================== ============ ========================
OS Arch Compilers ABI Library
============ ==================== ============ ========================
macOS i386, x86_64 Clang, GCC libc++abi
FreeBSD 10+ i386, x86_64, ARM Clang, GCC libcxxrt, libc++abi
Linux i386, x86_64 Clang, GCC libc++abi
============ ==================== ============ ========================
The following minimum compiler versions are strongly recommended.
* Clang 3.5 and above
* GCC 5.0 and above.
The C++03 dialect is only supported for Clang compilers.
C++ Dialect Support
---------------------
* C++11 - Complete
* `C++14 - Complete <http://libcxx.llvm.org/cxx1y_status.html>`__
* `C++17 - In Progress <http://libcxx.llvm.org/cxx1z_status.html>`__
* `Post C++14 Technical Specifications - In Progress <http://libcxx.llvm.org/ts1z_status.html>`__
* :ref:`C++ Feature Test Macro Status <feature-status>`
Notes and Known Issues
----------------------
This list contains known issues with libc++
* Building libc++ with ``-fno-rtti`` is not supported. However
linking against it with ``-fno-rtti`` is supported.
A full list of currently open libc++ bugs can be `found here`__.
.. __: https://bugs.llvm.org/buglist.cgi?component=All%20Bugs&product=libc%2B%2B&query_format=advanced&resolution=---&order=changeddate%20DESC%2Cassigned_to%20DESC%2Cbug_status%2Cpriority%2Cbug_id&list_id=74184
Design Documents
----------------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
DesignDocs/AvailabilityMarkup
DesignDocs/DebugMode
DesignDocs/CapturingConfigInfo
DesignDocs/ABIVersioning
DesignDocs/ExperimentalFeatures
DesignDocs/VisibilityMacros
DesignDocs/ThreadingSupportAPI
DesignDocs/FileTimeType
DesignDocs/FeatureTestMacros
DesignDocs/ExtendedCXX03Support
* `<atomic> design <http://libcxx.llvm.org/atomic_design.html>`_
* `<type_traits> design <http://libcxx.llvm.org/type_traits_design.html>`_
* `Notes by Marshall Clow`__
.. __: https://cplusplusmusings.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/clang-and-standard-libraries-on-mac-os-x/
Build Bots and Test Coverage
----------------------------
* `LLVM Buildbot Builders <http://lab.llvm.org:8011/console>`_
* `Apple Jenkins Builders <http://lab.llvm.org:8080/green/view/Libcxx/>`_
* `Windows Appveyor Builders <https://ci.appveyor.com/project/llvm-mirror/libcxx>`_
* `Code Coverage Results <http://efcs.ca/libcxx-coverage>`_
Getting Involved
================
First please review our `Developer's Policy <http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html>`__
and `Getting started with LLVM <http://llvm.org/docs/GettingStarted.html>`__.
**Bug Reports**
If you think you've found a bug in libc++, please report it using
the `LLVM Bugzilla`_. If you're not sure, you
can post a message to the `libcxx-dev mailing list`_ or on IRC.
**Patches**
If you want to contribute a patch to libc++, the best place for that is
`Phabricator <http://llvm.org/docs/Phabricator.html>`_. Please add `libcxx-commits` as a subscriber.
Also make sure you are subscribed to the `libcxx-commits mailing list <http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/libcxx-commits>`_.
**Discussion and Questions**
Send discussions and questions to the
`libcxx-dev mailing list <http://lists.llvm.org/mailman/listinfo/libcxx-dev>`_.
Quick Links
===========
* `LLVM Homepage <http://llvm.org/>`_
* `libc++abi Homepage <http://libcxxabi.llvm.org/>`_
* `LLVM Bugzilla <https://bugs.llvm.org/>`_
* `libcxx-commits Mailing List`_
* `libcxx-dev Mailing List`_
* `Browse libc++ Sources <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/tree/master/libcxx/>`_