Contemporary C++ with Daniela Engert

The C++ language keeps evolving, and behind every new standard are people who volunteer their time to discuss, design, and refine its features. In this episode of The Curious Developer, Jesper Pedersen talks with Daniela Engert about her path into the C++ Standards Committee, her work on modules, and why she invests personal time and money to help shape the future of the language.

They discuss how Daniela moved from Fortran and Basic into C++, why she decided to “learn the deep stuff”, and what motivated her to join national and international standards meetings. She explains what committee work actually looks like, why it is not a free vacation in Hawaii, and how mentoring younger developers and sharing knowledge at conferences keeps her engaged.

You’ll learn:

• How Daniela got started with C++ and why she went deep into the language
• What it’s like to attend C++ Standards Committee meetings as an individual contributor
• Why someone would spend vacation time on ISO meetings and standards work
• The importance of mentoring and sharing knowledge through talks and hallway conversations
• How conference speaking helps deepen your own understanding of technical topics

Ideal for developers curious about how the C++ standard is made and how community engagement can shape both a language and a career.

Chapters:
00:40 Introduction
01:50 When did you start with C++
02:55 What is in it for you to be in the standard committee?
05:22 Who are your sponsor in the standard committee?
07:09 What is in it for you to give presentations?
10:00 How do you know what is contemporary C++?
12:57 C++ from 2023 is not as contemporary any more.
15:30 Hardening of the language
19:26 Vocabulary types and algorithms
22:09 Compile time programming
25:44 The idea of 3 years cycles of C++ releases
28:11 Do you consider modules as failed?
34:32 So the problem is with the build systems
37:25 So how does the compiler and build system work together?
38:35 Import Qt;
41:50 Can one ship an SDK with precompiled binaries, supporting modules?
46:32 Will my own application be split in to modules?
47:46 How much speedup could I expect?

Links:

• NDC TechTown & talks/videos
• C++ standard commitee
• ISO meeting (Hawaii), a trip report.
• Conference mentioned by Daniela
• Daniela's CppCon presentation from two years ago
• Bjarne Stroustrup publications
• Explanation of undefined behaviour in C++
• "Modern C++" by Andrei
• Kitware

About the guest:
Daniela Engert has a degree in electrical engineering and has worked for more than 35 years as a developer in a wide variety of software and hardware projects, mostly in the domain of digital signal processing and its application in areas like signal and communications intelligence, medical imaging, and now industrial non-destructive testing systems for steel goods.