Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup, known as the creator of C++, has appealed to IT professionals to protect the programming language, which has been shunned in recent years. What is the reason?
Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup, known as the creator of C++, has appealed to IT professionals to protect the programming language, which has been shunned in recent years. What is the reason?
As reported by The Register, Stroustrup emphasized that C++ has recently become a target for criticism due to memory safety issues, which could lead to a loss of trust in the language and its displacement from key areas of development.
In recent years, cybersecurity experts, large technology companies, and government agencies have increasingly raised concerns about C++'s memory-related vulnerabilities, leading many organizations to move to alternatives with built-in security mechanisms, such as Rust, Go, Java, and Swift.
For example:
In his letter to the C++ standardization committee, he emphasized the need for rapid changes to improve the language’s security. The Danish programmer proposes creating Memory Safety Profiles that would reduce the number of vulnerabilities.
Bjarn Stroustrup believes that securing C++ will help:
«Security is obviously critical in many contexts, so I’ve been working on improving security in C++ for many years,» says Stroustrup.
He called for an evolutionary approach—modernizing C++ code to make it safer with tests and tools—rather than a revolution that throws C++ out the window. Google supported this position, acknowledging that legacy C and C++ will be around for many years to come and need to be managed.
If the initiatives of the creator of C++ are implemented, C++ will be able to remain a competitive language. Otherwise, companies may continue to switch to other languages, which will reduce the role of C++ in software development.
