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2012-11-14 16:31:15 +00:00

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<h1>"libc++" C++ Standard Library</h1>
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<p>libc++ is a new implementation of the C++ standard library, targeting
C++11.</p>
<p>All of the code in libc++ is <a
href="http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html#license">dual licensed</a>
under the MIT license and the UIUC License (a BSD-like license).</p>
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<h2 id="goals">Features and Goals</h2>
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<ul>
<li>Correctness as defined by the C++11 standard.</li>
<li>Fast execution.</li>
<li>Minimal memory use.</li>
<li>Fast compile times.</li>
<li>ABI compatibility with gcc's libstdc++ for some low-level features
such as exception objects, rtti and memory allocation.</li>
<li>Extensive unit tests.</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="why">Why a new C++ Standard Library for C++11?</h2>
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<p>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:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>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++.</p></li>
<li><p>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++.</p>
</li>
<li><p>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.</p>
<p>Further, both projects are apparently abandoned: STLport 5.2.1 was
released in Oct'08, and STDCXX 4.2.1 in May'08.</p>
</ul>
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<h2 id="requirements">Platform Support</h2>
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<p>libc++ is known to work on the following platforms, using g++-4.2 and
clang (lack of C++11 language support disables some functionality).</p>
<ul>
<li>Mac OS X i386</li>
<li>Mac OS X x86_64</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="dir-structure">Current Status</h2>
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<p><a href="libcxx_by_chapter.pdf">Here</a> is a by-chapter breakdown of what
is passing tests and what isn't. This chart is currently based on testing
against clang++ with -std=c++11 on Apple's OS X. </p>
<p>
Ports to other platforms are underway. Here are recent test
results for <a href="results.Windows.html">Windows</a>
and <a href="results.Linux.html">Linux</a>.
</p>
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<h2>Get it and get involved!</h2>
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<p>First please review our
<a href="http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html">Developer's Policy</a>.
<p>To check out the code, use:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>svn co http://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/libcxx/trunk libcxx</code></li>
</ul>
<p>
On Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) and later, the easiest way to get this library is to install
Xcode 4.2 or later. However if you want to install tip-of-trunk from here
(getting the bleeding edge), read on. However, be warned that Mac OS
10.7 will not boot without a valid copy of <code>libc++.1.dylib</code> in
<code>/usr/lib</code>.
</p>
<p>
Next:
</p>
<ul>
<li><code>cd libcxx/lib</code></li>
<li><code>export TRIPLE=-apple-</code></li>
<li><code>./buildit</code></li>
<li><code>ln -sf libc++.1.dylib libc++.dylib</code></li>
</ul>
<p>
That should result in a libc++.1.dylib and libc++.dylib. The safest thing
to do is to use it from where your libcxx is installed instead of replacing
these in your Mac OS.
</p>
<p>
To use your system-installed libc++ with clang you can:
</p>
<ul>
<li><code>clang++ -stdlib=libc++ test.cpp</code></li>
<li><code>clang++ -std=c++11 -stdlib=libc++ test.cpp</code></li>
</ul>
<p>
To use your tip-of-trunk libc++ on Mac OS with clang you can:
</p>
<ul>
<li><code>export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=&lt;path-to-libcxx&gt;/lib</code>
<li><code>clang++ -std=c++11 -stdlib=libc++ -nostdinc++
-I&lt;path-to-libcxx&gt;/include -L&lt;path-to-libcxx&gt;/lib
test.cpp</code></li>
</ul>
<p>To run the libc++ test suite (recommended):</p>
<ul>
<li><code>cd libcxx/test</code></li>
<li><code>./testit</code></li>
<ul>
<li>You can alter the command line options <code>testit</code> uses
with <code>export OPTIONS="whatever you need"</code></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>Notes</h3>
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<p>
Building libc++ with <code>-fno-rtti</code> is not supported. However linking
against it with <code>-fno-rtti</code> is supported.
</p>
<p>Send discussions to the
(<a href="http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/cfe-dev">clang mailing list</a>).</p>
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<h2>Design Documents</h2>
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<ul>
<li><a href="atomic_design.html"><tt>&lt;atomic&gt;</tt></a></li>
<li><a href="type_traits_design.html"><tt>&lt;type_traits&gt;</tt></a></li>
<li><a href="http://marshall.calepin.co/llvmclang-and-standard-libraries-on-mac-os-x.html">Excellent notes by Marshall Clow</a></li>
</ul>
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