C++17 Features In Visual Studio 2017 Version 15.3 Preview

Stephan T. Lavavej - MSFT

Visual Studio 2017 version 15.3 preview is now available, containing an updated Visual C++ toolset (i.e. compiler, linker, and libraries). Like VS 2015’s Updates, we’re adding C++17 features in VS 2017’s Updates, at a similar release frequency. Unlike VS 2015’s Updates (which combined IDE and toolset changes), VS 2017’s IDE is being updated more frequently (with what we’re calling “minor Updates”). That’s why this is the first toolset Update (also called a “foundational Update”).

Here’s the compiler feature table, with some notes. While you can download VS 2017 15.3 preview 1 today, we’ve checked in additional features for Preview 2 which will be released soon. We want to tell you about both sets of features, so features that will be available in Preview 2 (but aren’t available today) are marked as [P2].

C++03/11 Core Language Features

Status

Paper

Notes

[Everything else]

VS 2015

[A]

Two-phase name lookup

Partial

[twoPhase]

Expression SFINAE

Partial

N2634

[B]

C99 preprocessor

Partial

N1653

[C]

Extended integer types

N/A

N1988

[D]

C++14 Core Language Features

Status

Paper

Notes

Avoiding/fusing allocations

N/A

N3664

[E]

Tweaked wording for contextual conversions

VS 2013

N3323

Binary literals

VS 2015

N3472

auto and decltype(auto) return types

VS 2015

N3638

init-captures

VS 2015

N3648

Generic lambdas

VS 2015

N3649

Variable templates

VS 2015.2

N3651

Extended constexpr

VS 2017

N3652

NSDMIs for aggregates

VS 2017

N3653

[[deprecated]] attribute

VS 2015

N3760

Sized deallocation

VS 2015

N3778

Digit separators

VS 2015

N3781

C++17 Core Language Features

Status

Paper

Notes

New rules for auto with braced-init-lists

VS 2015

N3922

[14]

Terse static_assert

VS 2017

N3928

typename in template template-parameters

VS 2015

N4051

[14]

Removing trigraphs

VS 2010

N4086

[14]

Nested namespace definitions

VS 2015.3

N4230

Fixing qualification conversions

No

N4261

Attributes for namespaces and enumerators

VS 2015

N4266

[14]

u8 character literals

VS 2015

N4267

[14]

Allowing more non-type template args

No

N4268

Fold expressions

No

N4295

Removing some empty unary folds

No

P0036R0

Removing the register keyword

VS 2017.3

P0001R1

Removing operator++ for bool

VS 2017.3

P0002R1

Adding noexcept to the type system

No

P0012R1

Extended aggregate initialization

No

P0017R1

Capturing *this by value

VS 2017.3

P0018R3

__has_include

VS 2017.3 [P2]

P0061R1

[14]

Rewording inheriting constructors

No

P0136R1

Direct-list-init of fixed enums from integers

VS 2017.3

P0138R2

constexpr lambdas

VS 2017.3

P0170R1

Generalized range-based for-loops

VS 2017

P0184R0

[14]

[[fallthrough]] attribute

VS 2017

P0188R1

[[nodiscard]] attribute

VS 2017.3

P0189R1

[[maybe_unused]] attribute

VS 2017.3

P0212R1

Hexfloat literals

No

P0245R1

Using attribute namespaces without repetition

VS 2017.3

P0028R4

Over-aligned dynamic memory allocation

No

P0035R4

Template argument deduction for class templates

No

P0091R3

Declaring non-type template parameters with auto

No

P0127R2

Guaranteed copy elision

VS 2017.3

P0135R1

Refining expression evaluation order

No

P0145R3

Structured bindings

VS 2017.3

P0217R3

Ignoring unrecognized attributes

No

P0283R2

constexpr if-statements

VS 2017.3 [P2]

P0292R2

[F]

Selection statements with initializers

VS 2017.3 [P2]

P0305R1

Inline variables

No

P0386R2

Matching template template-parameters to compatible arguments

No

P0522R0

Removing dynamic-exception-specifications

No

P0003R5

Pack expansions in using-declarations

No

P0195R2

[A] Except for dynamic exception specifications, which were deprecated in C++11 and mostly removed in C++17. Note that C++17 18.4 [except.spec]/2 says “The noexcept-specifier throw() is deprecated (D.3), and equivalent to the noexcept-specifier noexcept(true).” but VS 2017 version 15.3 preview currently considers throw() to be equivalent to __declspec(nothrow).

[twoPhase] While two-phase name lookup isn’t supported in VS 2017 version 15.3 preview, the compiler team is performing major work behind the scenes. For Preview 2, the /permissive- compiler option will activate partial support for two-phase name lookup (partial meaning roughly 60% complete). We’ll publish a detailed blog post in the future. (edited on May 10 at 3:30 PM Pacific Time for accuracy)

[B] Although Expression SFINAE is partially supported, it’s nearly complete. It was sufficient for the STL back in VS 2015.2, and Expression SFINAE has received further bugfixes for additional libraries like Boost. The most significant remaining deficiency is the need to use unique tag types when performing void_t/decltype Expression SFINAE.

[C] C99 preprocessor support is still partial, in that variadic macros mostly work. We’re planning to overhaul the preprocessor before marking this as complete.

[D] Extended integer types are permitted but not required. Like Clang and GCC, we’ve chosen not to implement any.

[E] Avoiding/fusing allocations is permitted but not required. For the time being, we’ve chosen not to implement this.

[F] Supported under /std:c++14 with “warning C4984: ‘if constexpr’ is a C++17 language extension”. This will allow the STL (in the future) to use “if constexpr” within its implementation.

[14] These features are always enabled, even under /std:c++14.

[P2] These features have been checked in and will be available in VS 2017.3 Preview 2.

Here’s the STL feature table:

Status

Std

Paper

Title

Notes

missing

C++17

P0604R0

Changing is_callable/result_of To is_invocable/invoke_result (Options A and B)
missing

C++17

P0005R4

not_fn()
patch

C++17

P0358R1

Fixes For not_fn()
missing

C++17

P0618R0

Deprecating <codecvt>
missing

C++17

P0521R0

Deprecating shared_ptr::unique()
missing

C++17

P0174R2

Deprecating Vestigial Library Parts
missing

C++17

P0003R5

Removing Dynamic Exception Specifications
missing

C++17

P0302R1

Removing Allocator Support In std::function
missing

C++17

P0433R2

Deduction Guides For The STL
missing

C++17

P0607R0

Inline Variables For The STL (Options A and B2)
missing

C++17

P0258R2

has_unique_object_representations
missing

C++17

P0426R1

constexpr For char_traits
missing

C++17

P0063R3

C11 Standard Library
missing

C++17

P0033R1

Rewording enable_shared_from_this
missing

C++17

P0414R2

shared_ptr<T[]>, shared_ptr<T[N]>
patch

C++17

P0497R0

Fixing shared_ptr For Arrays
missing

C++17

P0083R3

Splicing Maps And Sets
patch

C++17

P0508R0

Clarifying insert_return_type
missing

C++17

P0067R5

Elementary String Conversions

C++17

P0220R1

Library Fundamentals V1
missing

C++17

<memory_resource>
patch

C++17

P0337R0

Deleting polymorphic_allocator Assignment
missing

C++17

P0030R1

hypot(x, y, z)
missing

C++17

P0226R1

Mathematical Special Functions
missing

C++17

P0024R2

Parallel Algorithms

[G]

patch

C++17

P0336R1

Renaming Parallel Execution Policies
patch

C++17

P0394R4

Parallel Algorithms Should terminate() For Exceptions
patch

C++17

P0452R1

Unifying <numeric> Parallel Algorithms
missing

C++17

P0218R1

<filesystem>
patch

C++17

P0219R1

Relative Paths For Filesystem
patch

C++17

P0317R1

Directory Entry Caching For Filesystem
patch

C++17

P0392R0

Supporting string_view In Filesystem Paths
patch

C++17

P0430R2

Supporting Non-POSIX Filesystems
patch

C++17

P0492R2

Resolving NB Comments For Filesystem
VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0031R0

constexpr For <array> (Again) And <iterator>
VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0084R2

Emplace Return Type
VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0295R0

gcd(), lcm()
VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0298R3

std::byte

[H]

VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0435R1

Overhauling common_type

[14]

VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0505R0

constexpr For <chrono> (Again)
VS 2017.3 [P2]

C++17

P0548R1

Tweaking common_type And duration

[14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

Boyer-Moore search()
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0040R3

Extending Memory Management Tools
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0152R1

atomic::is_always_lock_free
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0154R1

hardware_destructive_interference_size, etc.
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0156R2

Renaming Variadic lock_guard To scoped_lock
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0253R1

Fixing Searcher Return Types
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0403R1

UDLs For <string_view> (“meow”sv, etc.)
VS 2017.3

C++17

P0418R2

atomic compare_exchange memory_order Requirements

[14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

P0513R0

Poisoning hash

[14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

P0516R0

Marking shared_future Copying As noexcept

[14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

P0517R0

Constructing future_error From future_errc

[14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

P0558R1

Resolving atomic<T> Named Base Class Inconsistencies

[I] [14]

VS 2017.3

C++17

P0599R1

noexcept hash

[14]

VS 2017

C++17

<algorithm> sample()
VS 2017

C++17

<any>
VS 2017

C++17

<optional>
VS 2017

C++17

<string_view>
VS 2017

C++17

<tuple> apply()
VS 2017

C++17

P0032R3

Homogeneous Interface For variant/any/optional
VS 2017

C++17

P0077R2

is_callable, is_nothrow_callable
VS 2017

C++17

P0088R3

<variant>
VS 2017

C++17

P0163R0

shared_ptr::weak_type
VS 2017

C++17

P0209R2

make_from_tuple()
VS 2017

C++17

P0254R2

Integrating string_view And std::string
VS 2017

C++17

P0307R2

Making Optional Greater Equal Again
VS 2017

C++17

P0393R3

Making Variant Greater Equal
VS 2017

C++17

P0504R0

Revisiting in_place_t/in_place_type_t<T>/in_place_index_t<I>
VS 2017

C++17

P0510R0

Rejecting variants Of Nothing, Arrays, References, And Incomplete Types
VS 2015.3

C++17

P0025R1

clamp()
VS 2015.3

C++17

P0185R1

is_swappable, is_nothrow_swappable
VS 2015.3

C++17

P0272R1

Non-const basic_string::data()
VS 2015.2

C++17

N4387

Improving pair And tuple

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

N4508

shared_mutex (Untimed)

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0004R1

Removing Deprecated Iostreams Aliases

[J]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0006R0

Variable Templates For Type Traits (is_same_v, etc.)

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0007R1

as_const()

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0013R1

Logical Operator Type Traits (conjunction, etc.)

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0074R0

owner_less<>

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0092R1

<chrono> floor(), ceil(), round(), abs()

[14]

VS 2015.2

C++17

P0156R0

Variadic lock_guard

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N3911

void_t

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4089

Safe Conversions In unique_ptr<T[]>

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4169

invoke()

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4190

Removing auto_ptr, random_shuffle(), And Old <functional> Stuff

[K]

VS 2015

C++17

N4258

noexcept Cleanups

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4259

uncaught_exceptions()

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4277

Trivially Copyable reference_wrapper

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4279

insert_or_assign()/try_emplace() For map/unordered_map

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4280

size(), empty(), data()

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4366

Precisely Constraining unique_ptr Assignment

[14]

VS 2015

C++17

N4389

bool_constant

[14]

VS 2013

C++17

N4510

Supporting Incomplete Types In vector/list/forward_list

[14]

N/A

C++17

N4284

Contiguous Iterators
N/A

C++17

P0175R1

Synopses For The C Library
N/A

C++17

P0180R2

Reserving Namespaces For Future Standardization
N/A

C++17

P0346R1

A <random> Nomenclature Tweak
N/A

C++17

P0371R1

Discouraging memory_order_consume
N/A

C++17

P0467R2

Requiring Forward Iterators In Parallel Algorithms
N/A

C++17

P0502R0

Parallel Algorithms Should terminate() For Exceptions, Usually
N/A

C++17

P0503R0

Correcting Library Usage Of “literal type”
N/A

C++17

P0509R1

Updating “Restrictions on exception handling”
N/A

C++17

P0518R1

Copying Trivially Copy Constructible Elements In Parallel Algorithms
N/A

C++17

P0523R1

Relaxing Complexity Requirements Of Parallel Algorithms (General)
N/A

C++17

P0574R1

Relaxing Complexity Requirements Of Parallel Algorithms (Specific)
N/A

C++17

P0623R0

Final C++17 Parallel Algorithms Fixes

The “missing” and “patch” papers have been grouped together and should be self-explanatory. The Library Fundamentals V1 paper has been decomposed into individual features marked by “…”. Finally, “N/A” indicates papers that didn’t change normative wording, or that didn’t really result in new features for users. For example, when we implement Parallel Algorithms, we’ll implement the current Standardese. For tracking purposes, P0394R4 (Parallel Algorithms Should terminate() For Exceptions) is important for users and implementers to be aware of, while P0502R0 (Parallel Algorithms Should terminate() For Exceptions, Usually) isn’t (it permits non-Standard execution policies to have different behavior).

[G] Serial for_each_n() will be available in Preview 2.

[H] /std:c++17 and /std:c++latest enable std::byte. It can be disabled by defining _HAS_STD_BYTE to 0.

[I] We’ve implemented the user-visible parts of P0558R1 (Resolving atomic<T> Named Base Class Inconsistencies), except for the signatures of atomic_meow() and atomic_meow_explicit(), which can be observed by taking their addresses or providing explicit template arguments.

[J] /std:c++17 and /std:c++latest remove the old iostreams members. They can be restored by defining _HAS_OLD_IOSTREAMS_MEMBERS to 1.

[K] /std:c++17 and /std:c++latest remove auto_ptr, random_shuffle(), and the old <functional> stuff. They can be restored by defining _HAS_AUTO_PTR_ETC to 1.

We’ve also implemented 29 LWG issue resolutions, fixed several bugs, and made many behind-the-scenes improvements, which we’ll be writing about as we get closer to VS 2017.3’s final release.

Please try out Visual Studio 2017 version 15.3 preview and let us know what you think. (Remember that you must compile with either /std:c++17 or /std:c++latest to enable C++17 features, aside from those marked [14] above – and remember that [P2] features won’t be available until Preview 2.) You can use the IDE’s Report A Problem to report bugs. For compiler and library bugs, it’s important to provide self-contained test cases.

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