File: ABIVersioning.rst

package info (click to toggle)
llvm-toolchain-20 1%3A20.1.6-1~exp1
  • links: PTS, VCS
  • area: main
  • in suites: experimental
  • size: 2,111,304 kB
  • sloc: cpp: 7,438,677; ansic: 1,393,822; asm: 1,012,926; python: 241,650; f90: 86,635; objc: 75,479; lisp: 42,144; pascal: 17,286; sh: 10,027; ml: 5,082; perl: 4,730; awk: 3,523; makefile: 3,349; javascript: 2,251; xml: 892; fortran: 672
file content (32 lines) | stat: -rw-r--r-- 1,448 bytes parent folder | download | duplicates (20)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

====================
Libc++ ABI stability
====================

Libc++ aims to preserve a stable ABI to avoid subtle bugs when code built under the old ABI
is linked with code built under the new ABI. At the same time, libc++ wants to make
ABI-breaking improvements and bugfixes in scenarios where the user doesn't mind ABI breaks.

To support both cases, libc++ allows specifying an ABI version at
build time. The version is defined with CMake option ``LIBCXX_ABI_VERSION``.
Currently supported values are ``1`` (the stable default)
and ``2`` (the unstable "next" version). At some point "ABI version 2" will be
frozen and new ABI-breaking changes will start being applied to version ``3``;
but this has not happened yet.

To always use the most cutting-edge, most unstable ABI (which is currently ``2``
but at some point will become ``3``), set the CMake option ``LIBCXX_ABI_UNSTABLE``.

Internally, each ABI-changing feature is placed under its own C++ macro,
``_LIBCPP_ABI_XXX``. These macros' definitions are controlled by the C++ macro
``_LIBCPP_ABI_VERSION``, which is controlled by the ``LIBCXX_ABI_VERSION`` set
at build time. Libc++ does not intend users to interact with these C++ macros
directly.

-----------------
MSVC environments
-----------------

The exception to this is MSVC environments. Libc++ does not currently have users
that require a stable ABI in MSVC environments, so MSVC-only changes may be
applied unconditionally.