Standard ECMA 372 C++ CLI Language Specification 1st Edition by Patrick Charollais

C++/CLI Language Specification Introduction This Standard is based on a submission from Microsoft. It describes a technology, called C++/CLI, which is a binding between the Standard C++ programming language and the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI). That submission evolved from another Microsoft project, Managed Extensions for C++, the first widely distributed implementation of which was released by Microsoft in July 2000, as part of its .NET Framework initiative. The first widely distributed beta implementation of C++/CLI was released by Microsoft in July 2004. Ecma Technical Committee 39 (TC39) Task Group 5 (TG5) was formed in October 2003, to produce a standard for C++/CLI. (Another Task Group, TG3, was formed in September 2000 to produce a standard for a library and execution environment called Common Language Infrastructure. The current version of that standard is ECMA-335, 3rd edition, June 2005. CLI is based on a subset of the .NET Framework.) The goals used in the design of C++/CLI were as follows: • Provide an elegant and uniform syntax and semantics that give a natural feel for C++ programmers. • Provide first-class support for CLI features (e.g., properties, events, garbage collection, and generics) for all types including existing Standard C++ classes. • Provide first-class support for Standard C++ features (e.g., deterministic destruction, templates) for all types including CLI classes. • Preserve the meaning of existing Standard C++ programs by specifying pure extensions wherever possible. The development of this standard started in December 2003. It is expected there will be future revisions to this standard, primarily to add new functionality.