The result of the C++26 DIS ballot
The C++26 draft standard has failed its ISO DIS ballot, marking a historic first for the C++ language. The rejection, driven by concerns over the inclusion of contracts and other features, leaves the future timeline for the C++26 standard uncertain.
Why it matters
This unprecedented failure creates significant uncertainty for the C++ ecosystem, potentially delaying critical language features like reflection and contracts that developers and library maintainers are already beginning to adopt.
This is Part 6 of the C++26 contracts series on what C++26 contracts do, and the argument over shipping them. It follows on from Were C++26 contracts tried enough, and how were the objections handled? .
C++26 failed its DIS ballot. As far as I know, it is the first C++ draft to fail one. Robert Seacord, the convenor of the C committee, wrote that he doesn’t think any language standard from SC22 has ever failed its ballot before, and Daveed Vandevoorde, a member of the WG21 Direction Group ( P5000R1 ), wrote that no earlier C++ draft got even a single vote against. So reflection, std::execution , library hardening, and contracts are all in a draft that ISO hasn’t approved, and nobody knows yet how long the delay will be.
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