Software Engineering Daily Carbon and Modernizing C++ with Chandler Carruth
Aug 14, 2025
Chandler Carruth, creator of Carbon and leader of Google's C++ and LLVM teams, dives into the future of programming languages. He discusses Carbon's modern safety features while maintaining C++ interoperability, tackling challenges like slow compilation and memory safety. Chandler highlights the transition from C++ templates to Carbon generics and explores the complexities of migrating legacy code. He also touches on the governance of open source projects and how community involvement shapes the development of Carbon.
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Deep Interop Needs Real C++ Features
- Full interop requires supporting complex C++ features like virtual dispatch so Carbon types can be used where C++ expects base classes.
- Language design must include inheritance and ABI-compatible layouts to make that work seamlessly.
Generics Are The Path To Memory Safety
- Carbon prioritizes fast compile times and a parametric type system to enable high-performance memory safety.
- Definition-checked generics are central so safety features can be layered without duplicating code like C++ templates.
Migrate Incrementally With Constraints
- Migrate by translating C++ code into Carbon and then incrementally add constraints to templates.
- Once callers satisfy constraints, remove templates to gain checked generics and better ergonomics.
