xref: /llvm-project/libcxx/docs/ReleaseNotes/20.rst (revision 08a18efc664a85b4db8ca46ac986ec2d154ae433)
1===========================================
2Libc++ 20.0.0 (In-Progress) Release Notes
3===========================================
4
5.. contents::
6   :local:
7   :depth: 2
8
9Written by the `Libc++ Team <https://libcxx.llvm.org>`_
10
11.. warning::
12
13   These are in-progress notes for the upcoming libc++ 20.0.0 release.
14   Release notes for previous releases can be found on
15   `the Download Page <https://releases.llvm.org/download.html>`_.
16
17Introduction
18============
19
20This document contains the release notes for the libc++ C++ Standard Library,
21part of the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure, release 20.0.0. Here we describe the
22status of libc++ in some detail, including major improvements from the previous
23release and new feature work. For the general LLVM release notes, see `the LLVM
24documentation <https://llvm.org/docs/ReleaseNotes.html>`_. All LLVM releases may
25be downloaded from the `LLVM releases web site <https://llvm.org/releases/>`_.
26
27For more information about libc++, please see the `Libc++ Web Site
28<https://libcxx.llvm.org>`_ or the `LLVM Web Site <https://llvm.org>`_.
29
30Note that if you are reading this file from a Git checkout or the
31main Libc++ web page, this document applies to the *next* release, not
32the current one. To see the release notes for a specific release, please
33see the `releases page <https://llvm.org/releases/>`_.
34
35What's New in Libc++ 20.0.0?
36==============================
37
38The main focus of the libc++ team has been to implement new C++20, C++23, and C++26 features.
39
40Implemented Papers
41------------------
42
43- P0619R4: Reviewing Deprecated Facilities of C++17 for C++20 (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/99985>`__)
44- P2747R2: ``constexpr`` placement new (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/105427>`__)
45- P2609R3: Relaxing Ranges Just A Smidge (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/105253>`__)
46- P2985R0: A type trait for detecting virtual base classes (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/105432>`__)
47- ``std::jthread`` and ``<stop_token>`` are not guarded behind ``-fexperimental-library`` anymore
48- P2674R1: A trait for implicit lifetime types (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/105259>`__)
49- P0429R9: A Standard ``flat_map`` (`Github <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/105190>`__)
50
51Improvements and New Features
52-----------------------------
53
54- The ``lexicographical_compare`` and ``ranges::lexicographical_compare`` algorithms have been optimized for trivially
55  equality comparable types, resulting in a performance improvement of up to 40x.
56
57- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_TEMPORARY_BUFFER`` macro has been added to make ``std::get_temporary_buffer`` and
58  ``std::return_temporary_buffer`` available.
59
60- The ``std::uncaught_exception`` function was marked as deprecated since C++17 and removed since C++20. The
61  ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_UNCAUGHT_EXCEPTION`` macro has been added to make ``std::uncaught_exception``
62  available in C++20 and later modes.
63
64- The internal structure ``__compressed_pair`` has been replaced with ``[[no_unique_address]]``, resulting in reduced
65  compile times and smaller debug information as well as better code generation if optimizations are disabled.
66  The Chromium project measured a 5% reduction in object file and debug information size.
67
68- The ``_LIBCPP_ABI_BOUNDED_UNIQUE_PTR`` ABI configuration was added, which allows ``std::unique_ptr<T[]>`` to
69  detect out-of-bounds accesses in certain circumstances. ``std::unique_ptr<T[]>`` can now also detect out-of-bounds
70  accesses for a limited set of types (non-trivially destructible types) when the ABI configuration is disabled.
71
72- The ``_LIBCPP_ABI_BOUNDED_ITERATORS_IN_STD_ARRAY`` ABI configuration was added, which allows storing valid bounds
73  in ``std::array::iterator`` and detecting OOB accesses when the appropriate hardening mode is enabled.
74
75- The ``input_iterator``-pair overload of ``void assign(InputIt, InputIt)`` has been optimized for ``std::vector``,
76  resulting in a performance improvement of up to 2x for trivial element types (e.g., ``std::vector<int>``), and up
77  to 3.4x for non-trivial element types (e.g., ``std::vector<std::vector<int>>``).
78
79- The ``input_iterator``-pair overload of ``iterator insert(const_iterator, InputIt, InputIt)`` has been optimized
80  for ``std::vector``, resulting in a performance improvement of up to 10x for ``std::vector<int>``, and up to 2.3x
81  for ``std::vector<std::vector<int>>``.
82
83- On Windows, ``<system_error>``'s ``std::system_category`` is now distinct from ``std::generic_category``. The behavior
84  on other operating systems is unchanged.
85
86  On Windows -- unlike on Unix systems -- the libc and system APIs use distinct error codes. The libc functions return
87  ``errno.h`` error codes via the ``errno`` global, while Win32 API functions return ``winerror.h`` error codes via
88  ``GetLastError()``.
89
90  The C++ standard's ``std::error_code`` and ``std::error_category`` functionality was designed to support multiple
91  error domains, precisely in order to handle situations such as this. However, libc++ formerly treated
92  ``generic_category()`` and ``system_category()`` as equivalent, even on Windows. It now implements the intended split,
93  where ``system_category`` represents native ``winerror.h`` error codes, and ``generic_category`` represents libc error
94  codes (and, equivalently, ``std::errc::*`` errors).
95
96  This change enables code like ``std::error_code(GetLastError(), std::system_category()) ==
97  std::errc::invalid_argument`` to function as desired: constructing an ``error_code`` with the Windows error number in
98  the "system" category, and then mapping it to a generic code with ``error_condition``, for comparison with the
99  ``std::errc`` constant.
100
101  This is an incompatible change: ``std::error_code(ENOSYS, std::system_category()) ==
102  std::errc::function_not_supported`` would formerly have returned true, but now returns false on Windows. Code
103  providing a number from the ``errno.h`` domain should be migrated to construct a ``generic_category`` error_code,
104  instead. (E.g., use ``std::error_code(ENOSYS, std::generic_category())``). The new behavior matches MSVC.
105
106- On Windows, the ``std::filesystem`` library now returns the Win32 ``system_category`` error codes, where it's feasible
107  to do so. This allows interrogation and reporting of the original error code, which is useful if multiple Windows
108  errors map to a single generic error (such as with ``std::errc::no_such_file_or_directory``).
109
110  This is also a slightly-incompatible API change: code inspecting the raw integer value from the returned error_code
111  expecting an integer from ``generic_category`` (e.g. ``err.value() == ENOTDIR``) will not work as desired. Instead,
112  such code should use the comparison operators which implicitly handle eror mappings, ``err ==
113  std::errc::not_a_directory``, or use ``err.default_error_condition()`` to map to an ``error_condition``, and then test
114  its ``value()`` and ``category()``.
115
116- ``std::stable_sort`` uses radix sort for integral types now, which can improve the performance up to 10 times, depending
117  on type of sorted elements and the initial state of the sorted array.
118
119- Reduced the amount of debug information generated for internal typedefs. This reduces the size of debug builds.
120
121- Added :ref:`hardening mode <hardening>` support for ``forward_list`` and ``bitset``.
122
123Deprecations and Removals
124-------------------------
125
126- The ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` CMake variable and the ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` macro that were used to
127  enable the safe mode have been removed in LLVM 20. Please use :ref:`support for hardening <using-hardening-modes>`
128  instead.
129
130- Support for the C++20 synchronization library (``<barrier>``, ``<latch>``, ``atomic::wait``, etc.) has been
131  removed in language modes prior to C++20. If you are using these features prior to C++20, you will need to
132  update to ``-std=c++20``.
133
134- The relational operators for ``std::chrono::weekday`` has been removed entirely, and the
135  ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_REMOVED_WEEKDAY_RELATIONAL_OPERATORS`` macro is now ignored.
136
137- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_REMOVED_ALLOCATOR_CONST`` macro no longer has any effect. ``std::allocator<const T>`` is not
138  supported as an extension anymore, please migrate any code that uses e.g. ``std::vector<const T>`` to be
139  standards conforming.
140
141- Non-conforming member typedefs ``base``, ``iterator``, ``const_iterator``, ``size_type``, ``difference_type``, and
142  ``const_reference`` of ``std::bitset``, and member typedef ``base`` of ``std::forward_list`` and ``std::list`` are
143  removed. Previously, these member typedefs (except ``const_reference``) were private but could cause ambiguity in name
144  lookup. Code that expects such ambiguity will possibly not compile in LLVM 20.
145
146- The function ``__libcpp_verbose_abort()`` is now ``noexcept``, to match ``std::terminate()``. (The combination of
147  ``noexcept`` and ``[[noreturn]]`` has special significance for function effects analysis.) For backwards compatibility,
148  the ``_LIBCPP_VERBOSE_ABORT_NOT_NOEXCEPT`` macro can be defined to make the function non-``noexcept``. That macro
149  will be removed in LLVM 21.
150
151- ``<ccomplex>``, ``<cstdalign>`` (previously missing), ``<cstdbool>``, and ``<ctgmath>`` are deprecated since C++17 as
152  specified by the standard. They, together with ``<ciso646>``, are removed in C++20, but libc++ still provides these
153  headers as an extension and only deprecates them. The ``_LIBCPP_DISABLE_DEPRECATION_WARNINGS`` macro can be defined to
154  suppress deprecation for these headers.
155
156- The ``_LIBCPP_DISABLE_AVAILABILITY`` macro that was used to force-disable availability markup has now been removed.
157  Whether availability markup is used by the library is now solely controlled at configuration-time.
158
159- The pointer safety functions ``declare_reachable``, ``declare_no_pointers``, ``undeclare_no_pointers`` and
160  ``__undeclare_reachable`` have been removed from the library. These functions were never implemented in a non-trivial
161  way, making it very unlikely that any binary depends on them.
162
163- Non-conforming extension ``packaged_task::result_type`` is deprecated. It will be removed in LLVM 21.
164
165Upcoming Deprecations and Removals
166----------------------------------
167
168LLVM 21
169~~~~~~~
170
171- The status of the C++03 implementation will be frozen after the LLVM 21 release. This means that starting in LLVM 22,
172  non-critical bug fixes may not be back-ported to C++03, including LWG issues. C++03 is a legacy platform, where most
173  projects are no longer actively maintained. To reduce the amount of fixes required to keep such legacy projects
174  compiling with up-to-date toolchains, libc++ will aim to freeze the status of the headers in C++03 mode to avoid
175  unintended breaking changes. See https://discourse.llvm.org/t/rfc-freezing-c-03-headers-in-libc for more details.
176
177  If you are using C++03 in your project, you should consider moving to a newer version of the Standard to get the most
178  out of libc++.
179
180- The ``_LIBCPP_VERBOSE_ABORT_NOT_NOEXCEPT`` macro will be removed in LLVM 21, making ``std::__libcpp_verbose_abort``
181  unconditionally ``noexcept``.
182
183- Non-conforming extension ``packaged_task::result_type`` will be removed in LLVM 21.
184
185
186ABI Affecting Changes
187---------------------
188
189- The ABI breaks for removing undefined behaviour in ``std::forward_list``, ``std::list``, ``std::map``, ``std::set``,
190  ``std::multimap``, ``std::multiset``, ``std::unordered_map``, ``std::unordered_set``, ``std::unordered_multimap`` and
191  ``std::unordered_multiset`` are now applied unconditionally. This only affects fancy pointers which have a different
192  value representation when pointing at the base of an internal node type instead of the type itself. A size or
193  alignment difference is diagnosed, but more subtle ABI breaks may result in unexpected behaviour.
194
195- The internal structure ``__compressed_pair`` has been replaced with ``[[no_unique_address]]``. The ABI impact is:
196
197  - When using the Itanium ABI (most non-MSVC platforms), empty types are now placed at the beginning of the enclosing
198    object instead of where the beginning of the ``__compressed_pair`` subobject was. This is only observable by
199    checking the address of the empty allocator, equality comparator or hasher.
200  - Additionally, using an overaligned empty type as an allocator, comparator or hasher in the associative containers
201    (and only those containers) may result in the container's object object size and data layout changing beyond only
202    the address of the empty member.
203  - When using the MSVC ABI, this change results in some classes having a completely different memory layout, so this is
204    a genuine ABI break. However, the library does not currently guarantee ABI stability on MSVC platforms.
205
206- The localization support base API has been reimplemented, leading to different functions being exported from the
207  libc++ built library on Windows and Windows-like platforms.
208