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comp.std.c++ frequently asked questions			
last updated 9-29-95
   Matt Austern <matt@physics.berkeley.edu> 
   Steve Clamage <clamage@eng.sun.com> 
   Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>

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 1. What is comp.std.c++'s moderation policy?
 2. How can I tell whether my post belongs in comp.std.c++, in
    comp.lang.c++, or somewhere else?
 3. How do I submit a posting to comp.std.c++?
 4. Who moderates comp.std.c++?  How can I get in touch with them?
 5. What are some other online resources that are relevant to comp.std.c++?
 6. Where can I get a copy of the C++ standard?
 7. Where can I get a copy of the working paper?
 8. What is the expected timetable for completion of the standard?
 9. How do I contact the ANSI/ISO C++ committee?
10. What books can I read to understand why C++ was designed the way
    it was?
11. How do I submit a proposal for an extension?  Is it likely that any
    new extensions will be accepted at this stage?
12. What are some of the most important post-ARM changes?
13. Are there any compilers that implement all of this?
14. Are there any C++ books that describe C++ in its latest version?

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1. What is comp.std.c++'s moderation policy?

Quoting from the charter: comp.std.c++ is for technical announcements
and discussion of the ANSI/ISO C++ standardization process and the C++
standard, and for discussion of the design and standardization of the
C++ language and libraries. Other discussion that is directly related
to the C++ standard (not related merely to C++ programming techniques)
is also welcome.  Posts should be cogent and free from personal
attacks.

Further information about moderation policy can be found at
http://dogbert.lbl.gov/~matt/std-c++/policy.html.


2. How can I tell whether my post belongs in comp.std.c++, in
   comp.lang.c++, or somewhere else?

If you're talking specifically about the C++ standard, or about how
the C++ language itself is designed, or about recent changes in the
language, then your post probably belongs in comp.std.c++.  If you're
talking about how to write C++ programs (if you want to know how to do
something in C++, for example), then your post probably belongs in
comp.lang.c++.  If you're talking about general issues that aren't
unique to C++ (algorithms, for example, or object-oriented design),
then you might want to consider comp.programming, comp.lang.misc,
or comp.object.

Finally, most of the popular platforms (Unix, OS/2, MS-Windows,
Macintosh, and so on) have their own groups.  Topics that apply to
some particular platform, rather than to C++ in general, should go to
one of those groups.


3. How do I submit a posting to comp.std.c++?

You should be able to use your ordinary newsreading software: if
things are set up properly, an article that you "post" to comp.std.c++
will automatically get forwarded to one of the moderators.  If that
doesn't work, though, you can mail your article to
std-c++@ncar.ucar.edu; this is less convenient than using your
newsreader, but probably more reliable.


4. Who moderates comp.std.c++?  How can I get in touch with them?

Comp.std.c++ is moderated by panel: an article sent to
std-c++@ncar.ucar.edu is automatically mailed to one of the
moderators.  If you want to get in touch with the moderators
(if you want to discuss moderation policy, for example), you 
should send mail to std-c++-request@ncar.ucar.edu.  Mail sent 
to that address will be forwarded to all of the moderators.

At present, there are three moderators:
   Matt Austern <matt@physics.berkeley.edu> 
   Steve Clamage <clamage@eng.sun.com> 
   Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>.


5. What are some other online resources that are relevant to comp.std.c++?

comp.lang.c++ is for general discussion about C++ programming; you
should probably read the comp.lang.c++ FAQ list, available from
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/comp/lang/c++ and other
places.

See also question 7.


6. Where can I get a copy of the C++ standard?

You can't; there isn't one yet.  The standards committee, ISO WG21 and
ANSI X3J16, is still working on it.  The eventual standard, though,
will probably resemble the current WG21/X3J16 working paper very
closely.


7. Where can I get a copy of the working paper?

The comp.lang.c++ FAQ (see question 5) has information about buying a
copy of the current WP from X3.  You can also ftp a copy of the
public-comment version (April 1995) from
        ftp://research.att.com/dist/c++std/WP
        ftp://ftp.maths.warwick.ac.uk/pub/c++/std/WP
        ftp://ftp.su.edu.au/pub/C++/CommitteeDraft.
You should get the readme file first: it has useful information on 
what the various pieces are.  Finally, the public comment version 
is available in HTML from http://www.cygnus.com/~mrs/wp-draft/.


8. What is the expected timetable for completion of the standard?

9/28/95  CD Ballot closes
  11/95    Tokyo meeting
   3/96    Scotts Valley Meeting
5/96     Begin CD-2 ballot & US Public Review (few changes after this point)
   7/96    Stockholm meeting
8/96     End CD-2 ballot 
  11/96    Hawaii meeting
   3/97    (TBD) meeting
5/97     Begin DIS ballot & US Public Review
   7/97    UK meeting
9/97     End DIS ballot
  11/97    (TBD) meeting
12/97    Send final camera-ready copy to ITTF


9. How do I contact the ANSI/ISO C++ committee?

You can contact individual members or officers of WG21/X3J16.  You can
submit comments during public-comment periods via the announced
procedures.  (They will be announced in comp.std.c++.)  You can post
comments and questions to comp.std.c++.


10. What books can I read to understand why C++ was designed the way
    it was?

The Annotated C++ Reference Manual, by Ellis and Stroustrup (usually
referred to as the ARM) essentially covers what C++ was before
WG21/X3J16 convened.  It consists of a formal reference manual
interspersed with explanatory comments, and is very valuable even
though it is somewhat out of date.  The Design and Evolution of C++,
by Stroustrup (usually referred to as D&E), is less technical and more
historical.  It is also more up to date: it includes many of the
changes in C++ since the ARM was published.  D&E is useful because it
discusses language design decisions in detail, including ideas that
were ultimately rejected.  Both books are published by Addison-Wesley.

Finally, The Draft Standard C++ Library, by Plauger (published by
Prentice Hall), is also useful: it is the basis for some of the text
in the working paper.  There were major changes just after the book
was published, unfortunately, and the C++ standard library in the WP
no longer bears much resemblance to the one Plauger describes.

You should probably read the ARM and D&E before posting to this group.


11. How do I submit a proposal for an extension?  Is it likely that any
    new extensions will be accepted at this stage?

See the discussion in D&E: it's possible that your idea has already
been considered and rejected.  D&E also has some comments about
extension proposals in general.  Additionally, the standard is now in
a clean-up phase, and proposals for extensions are routinely rejected
simply on the basis of not enough time to deal with them.  A
particularly cogent proposal that solves a serious problem affecting
many users, that has little or no impact on the rest of the language,
and that would add little text to the standard, might be accepted.


12. What are some of the most important post-ARM changes?

Many of the changes are summarized in Appendix A of Stroustrup's
book The C++ Programming Language (second edition).  If you have
an older printing of that book, you can get an updated version
of the appendix from ftp://ftp.std.com/AW/stroustrup2e/new_iso.ps.

Here are a few of the changes.  Templates and exceptions are no longer
"experimental".  Member functions of derived classes may have
covariant return types.  Run-time type identification has been added
to the language.  C-style casts are now deprecated: you should use
static_cast, dynamic_cast, const_cast, or reinterpret_cast instead.  A
namespace mechanism has been added to the language.  It is possible to
declare variables in the test expression of if statements.  The scope
of variables declared in a for loop no longer extends past the end the
end of the loop.  The language now has an extensive standard class
library; the STL, or Standard Template Library (a container, iterator,
and algorithm library) is integrated into the standard C++ class
library.  


13. Are there any compilers that implement all of this?

None that I know of.  Most compilers implement some of these changes
but not all.


14. Are there any C++ books that describe C++ in its latest version?

None that I know of: it's a fast-moving target!



[ comp.std.c++ is moderated.  Submission address: std-c++@ncar.ucar.edu.
  Contact address: std-c++-request@ncar.ucar.edu.  The moderation policy
  is summarized in http://dogbert.lbl.gov/~matt/std-c++/policy.html. ]