March 29, 2026
Reflections and roast sessions
C++26 is done ISO C++ standards meeting, Trip Report
C++26 lands: cheers for reflection, side‑eye for modules, jokes about 2040 rollout
TLDR: C++26 is locked, bringing reflection and safer-by-default code to the classic language. Commenters are split between celebration and skepticism—cheering the long‑awaited power features, side‑eyeing whether modules will finally stick, and joking they won’t see this in real projects until 2040.
The C++ committee just wrapped up C++26 in London—final draft headed to the finish line—and the comments section instantly turned into a tech soap opera. The headline feature is reflection (the language can finally “look at itself” to generate code), plus quieter but huge news: safer memory by default and a tougher standard library with guardrails. The ISO C++ folks say it’s the biggest leap since 2011, and the crowd… had feelings.
The nostalgia crew showed up first: one ex-Microsoft dev basically cried happy tears, saying they never thought true reflection would arrive. The hype train was rolling—until the realists stormed in. The loudest “but actually” was about modules (a newer way to package code): fans want to know if tweaks in this release finally make it usable at scale, or if we’ll still be duct-taping headers in 2030. Then came the meme brigade, with a future-proofed zinger: “Can’t wait to use this in 2040,” poking at how slowly new C++ features reach everyday code.
Meanwhile, the safety-versus-speed cold war flickered. The committee touts teeny performance cost for the new safety nets, but old-school speed demons are already squinting. And one commenter tossed a spicy side quest—“cool reflection, but where’s that long‑requested ‘destructing move’?” Translation: the community loves the glow‑up, but they’re not done demanding receipts.
Key Points
- •The ISO C++ committee completed technical work on C++26 in Croydon, London, resolving remaining international comments and preparing the DIS ballot and final editorial work.
- •The six-day meeting was hosted by Phil Nash (Shaved Yaks) and the Standard C++ Foundation, with ~210 attendees (130 in-person, 80 remote via Zoom) from 24 nations and 24 new guest attendees.
- •The committee has 23 active subgroups; nine met across six parallel tracks, plus three evening sessions on implementations, memory safety, and quantities/units.
- •No features were added or removed at this final meeting; the focus was on addressing 411 national body comments from the Committee Draft.
- •C++26 highlights include compile-time reflection and memory safety improvements: eliminating UB for reading uninitialized locals and a hardened standard library with bounds-safe operations; deployments at Apple and Google report ~0.3% overhead.