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ISO Finalizes C++ Update

s Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) . It will be known as C++ 2011.

"Perhaps the most heartening thing to me is that this standard is widely considered among committee old-timers as the highest-quality FDIS document we have shipped," wrote Herb Sutter, Microsoft architect and chair of the ISO C++ standards committee, in a blog post.

Computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup first created C++ in 1979 as an extension to the C programming language, one that supports classes, or blueprints, for creating run-time objects. Although sometimes , C++in use today, trailing only Java and C, according to the most recent Tiobe survey of programming languages.

"C++0x feels like a new language: The pieces just fit together better than they used to and I find a higher-level style of programming more natural than before and as efficient as ever,"Stroustrup in a FAQ describing the update.

Sutter noted that the features of the draft standard, code-named C++0x, have already been added into working compilers as library extensions. Microsoft'sand the Free Software Foundation's open source(GNU Compiler Collection) both support some features.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at . Joab's e-mail address is