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Libc++ 18.0.0 (In-Progress) Release Notes
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Written by the `Libc++ Team <https://libcxx.llvm.org>`_

.. warning::

   These are in-progress notes for the upcoming libc++ 18.0.0 release.
   Release notes for previous releases can be found on
   `the Download Page <https://releases.llvm.org/download.html>`_.

Introduction
============

This document contains the release notes for the libc++ C++ Standard Library,
part of the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure, release 18.0.0. Here we describe the
status of libc++ in some detail, including major improvements from the previous
release and new feature work. For the general LLVM release notes, see `the LLVM
documentation <https://llvm.org/docs/ReleaseNotes.html>`_. All LLVM releases may
be downloaded from the `LLVM releases web site <https://llvm.org/releases/>`_.

For more information about libc++, please see the `Libc++ Web Site
<https://libcxx.llvm.org>`_ or the `LLVM Web Site <https://llvm.org>`_.

Note that if you are reading this file from a Git checkout or the
main Libc++ web page, this document applies to the *next* release, not
the current one. To see the release notes for a specific release, please
see the `releases page <https://llvm.org/releases/>`_.

What's New in Libc++ 18.0.0?
==============================

The main focus of the libc++ team has been to implement new C++20, C++23,
and C++26 features.

New hardened modes for the library have been added, replacing the legacy debug mode that was
removed in the LLVM 17 release. Unlike the legacy debug mode, some of these hardening modes are
also intended to be used in production. See :ref:`hardening` for more details.

Work on the ranges support has progressed. See
:ref:`ranges-status` for the current status.

Work on the experimental C++23 module support has progressed. The ``std.compat``
module is available and the feature is retroactively available in C++20. See
:ref:`ModulesInLibcxx` for more information.

Work on the experimental C++17 Parallel STL has progressed. See
:ref:`pstl-status` for the current status.

Work on the experimental C++17 SIMD support has progressed. See
:ref:`parallelism-status` for the current status.


Implemented Papers
------------------
- P2093R14 - Formatted output
- P2539R4  - Should the output of ``std::print`` to a terminal be synchronized with the underlying stream?
- P2497R0 - Testing for success or failure of ``<charconv>`` functions
- P2697R1 - Interfacing ``bitset`` with ``string_view``
- P2443R1 - ``views::chunk_by``
- P2538R1 - ADL-proof ``std::projected``
- P2614R2 - Deprecate ``numeric_limits::has_denorm``
- P0053R7 - C++ Synchronized Buffered Ostream (in the experimental library)
- P2467R1 - Support exclusive mode for fstreams
- P0020R6 - Floating Point Atomic
- P2905R2 - Runtime format strings
- P2918R2 - Runtime format strings II
- P2871R3 - Remove Deprecated Unicode Conversion Facets from C++26
- P2870R3 - Remove ``basic_string::reserve()``
- P2909R4 - Fix formatting of code units as integers (Dude, where’s my ``char``?)
- P2821R5 - ``span.at()``
- P0521R0 - Proposed Resolution for CA 14 (``shared_ptr`` ``use_count/unique``)
- P0543R3 - Saturation arithmetic
- P1759R6 - Native handles and file streams
- P2868R3 - Remove Deprecated ``std::allocator`` Typedef From C++26
- P2517R1 - Add a conditional ``noexcept`` specification to ``std::apply``
- P2447R6 - ``span`` over initializer list


Improvements and New Features
-----------------------------

- ``std::ranges::count`` and ``std::ranges::find`` are  now optimized for
  ``std::vector<bool>::iterator``, which can lead up to 350x performance
  improvements.

- ``std::for_each`` has been optimized for segmented iterators like ``std::deque::iterator`` in C++23 and
  later, which can lead up to 40x performance improvements.

- The library now provides several hardening modes under which common cases of library undefined behavior will be turned
  into a reliable program termination. The ``fast`` hardening mode enables a set of security-critical checks with
  minimal runtime overhead; the ``extensive`` hardening mode additionally enables relatively cheap checks that catch
  common logic errors but aren't necessarily security-critical; and the ``debug`` hardening mode enables all available
  checks, some of which might be very expensive. Vendors can configure which hardening mode is enabled by default with
  the ``LIBCXX_HARDENING_MODE`` variable at CMake configuration time. Users can control which hardening mode is enabled
  on a per translation unit basis using the ``_LIBCPP_HARDENING_MODE`` macro. See :ref:`the hardening documentation
  <using-hardening-modes>` for more details.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX26_REMOVED_CODECVT`` macro has been added to make
  the declarations in ``<codecvt>`` available.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX26_REMOVED_STRING_RESERVE`` macro has been added to make
  the function ``std::basic_string<...>::reserve()`` available.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX26_REMOVED_ALLOCATOR_MEMBERS`` macro has been added to make
  the function ``allocator<T>::is_always_equal`` available.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_SHARED_PTR_UNIQUE`` macro has been added to make
  the function ``std::shared_ptr<...>::unique()`` available.

- The cmake option ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_STD_MODULES`` has been removed. The test
  infrastructure no longer depends on a modern CMake, it works with the minimal
  required LLVM version (3.20.0).

- The ``.cppm`` files of experimental standard library modules can now be
  installed. By default, they are not installed. This can be enabled by
  configuring CMake with ``-DLIBCXX_INSTALL_MODULES=ON``. The installation
  directory can be configured with the CMake option
  ``-DLIBCXX_INSTALL_MODULE_DIR=<path>``. The default location is
  ``${PREFIX}/share/libc++/v1``.

- AddressSanitizer annotations have been added to ``std::basic_string``.
  These annotations are enabled for all allocators by default.
  It's only enabled for long strings, strings using the small buffer optimization are not annotated.

- The libc++ source code has been formatted with ``clang-format``. This
  `discourse thread <https://discourse.llvm.org/t/rfc-clang-formatting-all-of-libc-once-and-for-all>`_
  contains information how to rebase downstream patches.

Deprecations and Removals
-------------------------

- Availability macros which will never trigger an error have been removed. This includes anything that has been
  introduced before macOS 10.13, iOS 12, tvOS 12 and watchOS 4. This shouldn't affect anybody, since AppleClang 15
  doesn't support any older OSes. If you are a vendor and make use of these macros, please inform the libc++ team so we
  can re-introduce them and consider upstreaming support for your platform.

- The non-conforming constructor ``std::future_error(std::error_code)`` has been removed. Please use the
  ``std::future_error(std::future_errc)`` constructor provided in C++17 instead.

- `P1957 <https://wg21.link/P1957>`_ has been implemented in Clang and libc++ removed a code path that led to
  narrowing conversions in ``std::variant`` behaving in a non-standard way. This may change how some uses of
  ``std::variant``'s constructor behave in user code. The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_NARROWING_CONVERSIONS_IN_VARIANT``
  macro is provided to restore the previous behavior, and it will be supported in the LLVM 18 release only.
  In LLVM 19 and beyond, ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_NARROWING_CONVERSIONS_IN_VARIANT`` will not be honored anymore.

- Overriding ``__libcpp_verbose_abort`` no longer has any effect on library assertions. The only supported way
  to customize the assertion handler that gets invoked when a hardening assertion fails is now by setting the
  ``LIBCXX_ASSERTION_HANDLER_FILE`` CMake variable and providing a custom header. See the documentation on
  overriding the default assertion handler for details. The ability to override ``__libcpp_verbose_abort``
  will be removed in an upcoming release in favor of the new overriding mechanism.

- In safe mode (which is now equivalent to the ``extensive`` hardening mode), a failed assertion will now
  generate a trap rather than a call to verbose abort.

- The ``_LIBCPP_AVAILABILITY_CUSTOM_VERBOSE_ABORT_PROVIDED`` macro is not honored anymore in LLVM 18.
  Please see the updated documentation about the hardening modes in libc++ and in particular on
  overriding the default assertion handler.

- The headers ``<experimental/deque>``, ``<experimental/forward_list>``, ``<experimental/list>``,
  ``<experimental/map>``, ``<experimental/memory_resource>``, ``<experimental/regex>``, ``<experimental/set>``,
  ``<experimental/string>``, ``<experimental/unordered_map>``, ``<experimental/unordered_set>``,
  and ``<experimental/vector>`` have been removed in LLVM 18, as all their contents will have been
  implemented in namespace ``std`` for at least two releases.

- The macro ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_ALLOCATOR_MEMBERS`` has been deprecated and will be removed
  in LLVM 19. This macro used to re-enable redundant members of ``std::allocator<T>`` like ``pointer``,
  ``reference``, ``rebind``, ``address``, ``max_size``, ``construct``, ``destroy``, and the two-argument
  overload of ``allocate``. However, this led to the library being non-conforming due to incorrect
  constexpr-ness.

- The macros ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX17_REMOVED_FEATURES`` and
  ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_FEATURES`` have been deprecated and
  will be removed in LLVM 19. These macros used to re-enable all features
  that were removed in the C++17 and C++20 standards. Instead of using these
  macros, please use the macros to re-enable individual features.

- The macro ``_LIBCPP_INLINE_VISIBILITY`` has been deprecated in LLVM 18 and
  will be removed entirely in LLVM 19. The macro ``_LIBCPP_HIDE_FROM_ABI`` is
  the drop-in replacement.

- The macro ``_VSTD`` has been deprecated in LLVM 18 and will be removed
  entirely in LLVM 19. The code ``std`` is the drop-in replacement.


Upcoming Deprecations and Removals
----------------------------------

- The ability to override ``__libcpp_verbose_abort`` will be removed in an upcoming release.

LLVM 19
~~~~~~~

- The ``LIBCXX_EXECUTOR`` CMake variable has been deprecated.  LLVM 19 will
  completely remove support for the ``*_EXECUTOR`` variables.

- The ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` CMake variable that was used to enable the safe mode will be deprecated and setting
  it will trigger an error; use the ``LIBCXX_HARDENING_MODE`` variable with the value ``extensive`` instead. Similarly,
  the ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` macro will be deprecated (setting it to ``1`` still enables the extensive mode in
  the LLVM 19 release while also issuing a deprecation warning). See :ref:`the hardening documentation
  <using-hardening-modes>` for more details.

- The base template for ``std::char_traits`` has been marked as deprecated and will be removed in LLVM 19. If you
  are using ``std::char_traits`` with types other than ``char``, ``wchar_t``, ``char8_t``, ``char16_t``, ``char32_t``
  or a custom character type for which you specialized ``std::char_traits``, your code will stop working when we
  remove the base template. The Standard does not mandate that a base template is provided, and such a base template
  is bound to be incorrect for some types, which could currently cause unexpected behavior while going undetected.
  Note that the ``_LIBCPP_CHAR_TRAITS_REMOVE_BASE_SPECIALIZATION`` macro can be defined in LLVM 18 to eagerly remove
  the specialization and prepare code bases for the unconditional removal in LLVM 19.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_NARROWING_CONVERSIONS_IN_VARIANT`` macro that changed the behavior for narrowing conversions
  in ``std::variant`` will be removed in LLVM 19.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_ALLOCATOR_MEMBERS`` macro has been deprecated in LLVM 18 and will be removed
  entirely in LLVM 19.

- The ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX17_REMOVED_FEATURES`` and
  ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_CXX20_REMOVED_FEATURES`` macros have been deprecated
  in LLVM 18 and will be removed entirely in LLVM 19.

- The macro ``_LIBCPP_INLINE_VISIBILITY`` has been deprecated in LLVM 18 and
  will be removed entirely in LLVM 19.

- The macro ``_VSTD`` has been deprecated in LLVM 18 and will be removed
  entirely in LLVM 19.

LLVM 20
~~~~~~~

- The ``LIBCXX_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` CMake variable and the ``_LIBCPP_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS`` macro that were used to enable
  the safe mode will be removed.


ABI Affecting Changes
---------------------

- When the shared/static library is built with ``-fno-exceptions``, the behavior of ``operator new`` was changed
  to make it standards-conforming. In LLVM 17 and before, the throwing versions of ``operator new`` would return
  ``nullptr`` upon failure to allocate, when the shared/static library was built with exceptions disabled. This
  was non-conforming, since the throwing versions of ``operator new`` are never expected to return ``nullptr``, and
  this non-conformance could actually lead to miscompiles in subtle cases.

  Starting in LLVM 18, the throwing versions of ``operator new`` will abort the program when they fail to allocate
  if the shared/static library has been built with ``-fno-exceptions``. This is consistent with the behavior of all
  other potentially-throwing functions in the library, which abort the program instead of throwing when ``-fno-exceptions``
  is used.

  Furthermore, when the shared/static library is built with ``-fno-exceptions``, users who override the throwing
  version of ``operator new`` will now need to also override the ``std::nothrow_t`` version of ``operator new`` if
  they want to use it. Indeed, this is because there is no way to implement a conforming ``operator new(nothrow)``
  from a conforming potentially-throwing ``operator new`` when compiled with ``-fno-exceptions``. In that case, using
  ``operator new(nothrow)`` without overriding it explicitly but after overriding the throwing ``operator new`` will
  result in an error.

  Note that this change only impacts vendors/users that build the shared/static library themselves and pass
  ``-DLIBCXX_ENABLE_EXCEPTIONS=OFF``, which is not the default configuration. If you are using the default
  configuration of the library, the libc++ shared/static library will be built with exceptions enabled, and
  there is no change between LLVM 17 and LLVM 18, even for users who build their own code using ``-fno-exceptions``.

- The symbol of a non-visible function part of ``std::system_error`` was removed.
  This is not a breaking change as the private function ``__init`` was never referenced internally outside of the dylib.

- This release of libc++ added missing visibility annotations on some types in the library. Users compiling with
  ``-fvisbility=hidden`` may notice that additional type infos from libc++ are being exported from their ABI. This is
  the correct behavior in almost all cases since exporting the RTTI is required for these types to work properly with
  ``dynamic_cast``, exceptions and other mechanisms across binaries. However, if you intend to use libc++ purely as an
  internal implementation detail (i.e. you use libc++ as a static archive and never export libc++ symbols from your ABI)
  and you notice changes to your exported symbols list, then this means that you were not properly preventing libc++
  symbols from being part of your ABI.

- The name mangling for instantiations of ``std::projected`` has changed in order to implement P2538R1. This technically
  results in an ABI break, however in practice we expect uses of ``std::projected`` in ABI-sensitive places to be
  extremely rare. Any error resulting from this change should result in a link-time error.

- The internal alignment requirements for heap allocations inside ``std::string`` has decreased from 16 to 8. This
  saves memory since string requests fewer additional bytes than it did previously. However, this also changes the
  return value of ``std::string::max_size`` and can cause code compiled against older libc++ versions but linked at
  runtime to a new version to throw a different exception when attempting allocations that are too large
  (``std::bad_alloc`` vs ``std::length_error``).

- The layout of some range adaptors that use the ``movable-box`` exposition-only type as an implementation
  detail has changed in order to fix a `bug <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/70506>`_ which could result in
  overwriting user data following the ``movable-box``.
  This bug was caused by incorrect usage of the ``[[no_unique_address]]`` attribute inside the implementation of ``movable-box``.
  This fix affects the layout of the following views: ``take_while_view``, ``filter_view``, ``single_view``, ``drop_while_view``,
  ``repeat_view``, ``transform_view``, ``chunk_by_view``. In order to avoid silent breakage as a result of this fix, an ABI tag has been added to
  these views such that their mangled name will be different starting in this version of libc++.
  As a result, attempting to call a function that expects one of these views will fail to link until the code has been rebuilt
  against a matching version of libc++. In practice, we believe it is unusual for these views to appear at ABI boundaries so this
  should not be a major problem for most users. However it is probably worth auditing ranges-heavy code for ABI boundaries that
  would contain these views, or for types that contain these views as members and which are passed across ABI boundaries.

- Some properties of libc++ may cause ODR-violations when mixing multiple libc++
  instances. To avoid these, often benign, ODR-violations the ODR-affecting
  properties are now part of the ABI tag. The ODR-affecting properties are:

    - library version (This was part of the ABI tag prior to LLVM 18.)
    - exceptions vs no-exceptions
    - hardening mode

  This should not be ABI-affecting except that libc++ will be more robust
  against different configurations of it being used in different translation
  units.

- The amount of padding bytes available for use at the end of certain ``std::expected`` instantiations has changed in this
  release. This is an ABI break for any code that held a ``std::expected`` member with ``[[no_unique_address]]`` in an
  ABI-facing type. In those cases, the layout of the enclosing type will change, breaking the ABI. However, the
  ``std::expected<T, E>`` member requires a few characteristics in order to be affected by this change:

  - A type equivalent to ``union {T ; E}`` needs to have more than one byte of padding available.
  - The ``std::expected<T, E>`` member must have been in a situation where its padding bytes were previously reused by
    another object, which can happen in a few cases (this is probably not exhaustive):

    - It is a member with ``[[no_unique_address]]`` applied to it, and it is followed by another data member, or
    - It is a member with ``[[no_unique_address]]`` applied to it, and it is the last member of the user-defined type,
      and that user-defined type is used in ways that its padding bytes can be reused, or
    - It is inherited from

  We expect that this will not be a very frequent occurrence. However, there is unfortunately no technique we can use
  in the library to catch such misuse. Indeed, even applying an ABI tag to ``std::expected`` would not help since ABI
  tags are not propagated to containing types. As a result, if you notice very difficult to explain bugs around the
  usage of a ``std::expected``, you should consider checking whether you are hitting this ABI break. This change was
  done to fix `#70494 <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/70494>`_ and the vendor communication is handled
  in `#70820 <https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/issues/70820>`_.


Build System Changes
--------------------

- The ``LIBCXX_EXECUTOR`` CMake variable has been deprecated. If you are relying on this, the new replacement is
  passing ``-Dexecutor=...`` to ``llvm-lit``. Alternatively, this flag can be made persistent in the generated test
  configuration file by passing ``-DLIBCXX_TEST_PARAMS=executor=...``. This also applies to the ``LIBUWIND_EXECTOR``
  and ``LIBCXXABI_EXECUTOR`` CMake variables. LLVM 19 will completely remove support for the ``*_EXECUTOR`` variables.

- ``LIBCXXABI_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER`` and ``COMPILER_RT_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER`` switched defaults from ``OFF`` to ``ON``.
  This means that by default, libc++abi and compiler-rt will link against the LLVM provided ``libunwind`` library
  instead of the system-provided unwinding library. If you are building the LLVM runtimes with the goal of shipping
  them so that they can interoperate with other system-provided libraries that might be using a different unwinding
  library (such as ``libgcc_s``), you should pass ``LIBCXXABI_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER=OFF`` and ``COMPILER_RT_USE_LLVM_UNWINDER=OFF``
  to make sure the system-provided unwinding library is used by the LLVM runtimes.
