here are some random things i want for c++ and devstudio:

  • regular expressions built into the c++ syntax. not some library implementation
    of regular expressions like boost or the regex in c#, but easy syntax like in
    perl or ruby.
  • source code styles sheets. instead of putting a line of //===... above every
    function, just add that as a rule to your style sheet and all code you view gets
    that automatically. if you like class members prefixed with m_ or _ or suffixed with _
    or whatever just set that as a style sheet rule. like wise with k/r braces vs ms braces.
  • compile to xml. the compiler should be able to dump the syntax tree out to a simple xml file.
    this way you can write all sorts of great code manipulation tools without having to write a
    whole parser for c++. you could just use ruby or xslt or whatever you like to manipulate the xml.
  • eliminate the need for forward declarations from c++. it's the year 2005, why do functions
    still have to be forward declared? we have the technology!
  • the stl implementation with devstudio needs an option for range checking on vectors.
    and it shouldn't throw an exception, it should assert.
  • the crt needs a real assert. one with a cool ui and options to generate a crash
    report and email it to the developer.
  • compiler error messages are still really stupid. if you miss a semicolon it doesn't
    say "hey dude, you forgot a semicolon." instead you mostly get something totally random.
    it only takes a second to notice the missing semicolon, but come on... it's 2005.
  • region support like c#. not only the #region #endregion but also the ability to collapse
    all functions to their prototypes and collapse class declarations and implementations.
  • compiler intrinsics for vectors and matrices. it should be able to map operations
    with them to simd instructions.