ISO C++ library There are two licenses affecting GNU libstdc++: one for the code, and one for the documentation. There is a license section in the FAQ regarding common questions. If you have more questions, ask the FSF or the gcc mailing list. The source code is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2, with the so-called Runtime Exception as follows (or see any header or implementation file): As a special exception, you may use this file as part of a free software library without restriction. Specifically, if other files instantiate templates or use macros or inline functions from this file, or you compile this file and link it with other files to produce an executable, this file does not by itself cause the resulting executable to be covered by the GNU General Public License. This exception does not however invalidate any other reasons why the executable file might be covered by the GNU General Public License. Hopefully that text is self-explanatory. If it isn't, you need to speak to your lawyer, or the Free Software Foundation. The documentation shipped with the library and made available over the web, excluding the pages generated from source comments, are copyrighted by the Free Software Foundation, and placed under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2. There are no Front-Cover Texts, no Back-Cover Texts, and no Invariant Sections. For documentation generated by doxygen or other automated tools via processing source code comments and markup, the original source code license applies to the generated files. Thus, the doxygen documents are licensed GPL. If you plan on making copies of the documentation, please let us know. We can probably offer suggestions. Information on known bugs, details on efforts to fix them, and fixed bugs are all available as part of the GCC bug tracking system, bugzilla, with the category set to libstdc++. Everybody's got issues. Even the C++ Standard Library. The Library Working Group, or LWG, is the ISO subcommittee responsible for making changes to the library. They periodically publish an Issues List containing problems and possible solutions. As they reach a consensus on proposed solutions, we often incorporate the solution. Here are the issues which have resulted in code changes to the library. The links are to the specific defect reports from a partial copy of the Issues List. You can read the full version online at the ISO C++ Committee homepage, linked to on the GCC "Readings" page. If you spend a lot of time reading the issues, we recommend downloading the ZIP file and reading them locally. (NB: partial copy means that not all links within the lwg-*.html pages will work. Specifically, links to defect reports that have not been accorded full DR status will probably break. Rather than trying to mirror the entire issues list on our overworked web server, we recommend you go to the LWG homepage instead.) If a DR is not listed here, we may simply not have gotten to it yet; feel free to submit a patch. Search the include/bits and src directories for appearances of _GLIBCXX_RESOLVE_LIB_DEFECTS for examples of style. Note that we usually do not make changes to the code until an issue has reached DR status. 5: string::compare specification questionable This should be two overloaded functions rather than a single function. 17: Bad bool parsing Apparently extracting Boolean values was messed up... 19: "Noconv" definition too vague If codecvt::do_in returns noconv there are no changes to the values in [to, to_limit). 22: Member open vs flags Re-opening a file stream does not clear the state flags. 25: String operator<< uses width() value wrong Padding issues. 48: Use of non-existent exception constructor An instance of ios_base::failure is constructed instead. 49: Underspecification of ios_base::sync_with_stdio The return type is the previous state of synchronization. 50: Copy constructor and assignment operator of ios_base These members functions are declared private and are thus inaccessible. Specifying the correct semantics of "copying stream state" was deemed too complicated. 60: What is a formatted input function? This DR made many widespread changes to basic_istream and basic_ostream all of which have been implemented. 63: Exception-handling policy for unformatted output Make the policy consistent with that of formatted input, unformatted input, and formatted output. 68: Extractors for char* should store null at end And they do now. An editing glitch in the last item in the list of [27.6.1.2.3]/7. 74: Garbled text for codecvt::do_max_length The text of the standard was gibberish. Typos gone rampant. 75: Contradiction in codecvt::length's argument types Change the first parameter to stateT& and implement the new effects paragraph. 83: string::npos vs. string::max_size() Safety checks on the size of the string should test against max_size() rather than npos. 90: Incorrect description of operator>> for strings The effect contain isspace(c,getloc()) which must be replaced by isspace(c,is.getloc()). 91: Description of operator>> and getline() for string<> might cause endless loop They behave as a formatted input function and as an unformatted input function, respectively (except that getline is not required to set gcount). 103: set::iterator is required to be modifiable, but this allows modification of keys. For associative containers where the value type is the same as the key type, both iterator and const_iterator are constant iterators. 109: Missing binders for non-const sequence elements The binder1st and binder2nd didn't have an operator() taking a non-const parameter. 110: istreambuf_iterator::equal not const This was not a const member function. Note that the DR says to replace the function with a const one; we have instead provided an overloaded version with identical contents. 117: basic_ostream uses nonexistent num_put member functions num_put::put() was overloaded on the wrong types. 118: basic_istream uses nonexistent num_get member functions Same as 117, but for num_get::get(). 129: Need error indication from seekp() and seekg() These functions set failbit on error now. 136: seekp, seekg setting wrong streams? seekp should only set the output stream, and seekg should only set the input stream. 167: Improper use of traits_type::length() op<< with a const char* was calculating an incorrect number of characters to write. 169: Bad efficiency of overflow() mandated Grow efficiently the internal array object. 171: Strange seekpos() semantics due to joint position Quite complex to summarize... 181: make_pair() unintended behavior This function used to take its arguments as reference-to-const, now it copies them (pass by value). 195: Should basic_istream::sentry's constructor ever set eofbit? Yes, it can, specifically if EOF is reached while skipping whitespace. 211: operator>>(istream&, string&) doesn't set failbit If nothing is extracted into the string, op>> now sets failbit (which can cause an exception, etc., etc.). 214: set::find() missing const overload Both set and multiset were missing overloaded find, lower_bound, upper_bound, and equal_range functions for const instances. 231: Precision in iostream? For conversion from a floating-point type, str.precision() is specified in the conversion specification. 233: Insertion hints in associative containers Implement N1780, first check before then check after, insert as close to hint as possible. 235: No specification of default ctor for reverse_iterator The declaration of reverse_iterator lists a default constructor. However, no specification is given what this constructor should do. 241: Does unique_copy() require CopyConstructible and Assignable? Add a helper for forward_iterator/output_iterator, fix the existing one for input_iterator/output_iterator to not rely on Assignability. 243: get and getline when sentry reports failure Store a null character only if the character array has a non-zero size. 251: basic_stringbuf missing allocator_type This nested typedef was originally not specified. 253: valarray helper functions are almost entirely useless Make the copy constructor and copy-assignment operator declarations public in gslice_array, indirect_array, mask_array, slice_array; provide definitions. 265: std::pair::pair() effects overly restrictive The default ctor would build its members from copies of temporaries; now it simply uses their respective default ctors. 266: bad_exception::~bad_exception() missing Effects clause The bad_* classes no longer have destructors (they are trivial), since no description of them was ever given. 271: basic_iostream missing typedefs The typedefs it inherits from its base classes can't be used, since (for example) basic_iostream<T>::traits_type is ambiguous. 275: Wrong type in num_get::get() overloads Similar to 118. 280: Comparison of reverse_iterator to const reverse_iterator Add global functions with two template parameters. (NB: not added for now a templated assignment operator) 292: Effects of a.copyfmt (a) If (this == &rhs) do nothing. 300: List::merge() specification incomplete If (this == &x) do nothing. 303: Bitset input operator underspecified Basically, compare the input character to is.widen(0) and is.widen(1). 305: Default behavior of codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t>::length() Do not specify what codecvt<wchar_t, char, mbstate_t>::do_length must return. 328: Bad sprintf format modifier in money_put<>::do_put() Change the format string to "%.0Lf". 365: Lack of const-qualification in clause 27 Add const overloads of is_open. 387: std::complex over-encapsulated Add the real(T) and imag(T) members; in C++0x mode, also adjust the existing real() and imag() members and free functions. 389: Const overload of valarray::operator[] returns by value Change it to return a const T&. 402: Wrong new expression in [some_]allocator::construct Replace "new" with "::new". 409: Closing an fstream should clear the error state Have open clear the error flags. 431: Swapping containers with unequal allocators Implement Option 3, as per N1599. 432: stringbuf::overflow() makes only one write position available Implement the resolution, beyond DR 169. 434: bitset::to_string() hard to use Add three overloads, taking fewer template arguments. 438: Ambiguity in the "do the right thing" clause Implement the resolution, basically cast less. 453: basic_stringbuf::seekoff need not always fail for an empty stream Don't fail if the next pointer is null and newoff is zero. 455: cerr::tie() and wcerr::tie() are overspecified Initialize cerr tied to cout and wcerr tied to wcout. 464: Suggestion for new member functions in standard containers Add data() to std::vector and at(const key_type&) to std::map. 508: Bad parameters for ranlux64_base_01 Fix the parameters. 512: Seeding subtract_with_carry_01 from a single unsigned long Construct a linear_congruential engine and seed with it. 526: Is it undefined if a function in the standard changes in parameters? Use &value. 538: 241 again: Does unique_copy() require CopyConstructible and Assignable? In case of input_iterator/output_iterator rely on Assignability of input_iterator' value_type. 541: shared_ptr template assignment and void Add an auto_ptr<void> specialization. 543: valarray slice default constructor Follow the straightforward proposed resolution. 586: string inserter not a formatted function Change it to be a formatted output function (i.e. catch exceptions). 596: 27.8.1.3 Table 112 omits "a+" and "a+b" modes Add the missing modes to fopen_mode. 660: Missing bitwise operations Add the missing operations. 693: std::bitset::all() missing Add it, consistently with the discussion. 695: ctype<char>::classic_table() not accessible Make the member functions table and classic_table public. 761: unordered_map needs an at() member function In C++0x mode, add at() and at() const. 775: Tuple indexing should be unsigned? Implement the int -> size_t replacements. 778: std::bitset does not have any constructor taking a string literal Add it. 781: std::complex should add missing C99 functions In C++0x mode, add std::proj.