Introducing Carbon: The Next-Generation Language

In the world of programming, C++ has been a stalwart language for decades. However, with the rise of modern programming languages, C++ is starting to show its age. Enter Carbon, a new language developed by Google that aims to succeed C++ as the go-to language for performance-critical software.

What is Carbon?

Carbon is an open-source, statically-typed language that is designed to match C++’s performance and scalability. It offers modern programming practices such as:

• Generics
• Modular code organization
• Simple syntax

Carbon is also designed for bidirectional interoperability with C++, making it easy to migrate existing C++ codebases to Carbon.

Key Features of Carbon

Some of the key features of Carbon include:

• Interoperability: Carbon is designed to work seamlessly with C++ codebases, allowing developers to use existing C++ libraries and frameworks.
• Modern Generics System: Carbon’s generics system is designed to be more expressive and safe than C++’s template system.
• Memory Safety Improvements: Carbon includes features such as tracking uninitialized states and discouraging initialization bugs to improve memory safety.

Carbon vs. C++

While Carbon is still in its experimental phase, it has the potential to address many of the issues that have plagued C++ developers for years. With its modern design and focus on safety and performance, Carbon could become the go-to language for performance-critical software.

Getting Started with Carbon

To get started with Carbon, you’ll need to:

1. Install Bazelisk and llvm on your machine.
2. Clone the Carbon repository.
3. Build the Carbon explorer.

bazelisk run //carbon/explorer:carbon_explorer

Overview of Carbon’s Syntax

Carbon’s syntax is similar to Rust’s, with a focus on simplicity and readability. Some key features of Carbon’s syntax include:

• Variables: Carbon uses the var keyword to declare variables, and requires explicit type declarations.
• For Loops: Carbon uses C-style for loops with a range of functionality.
• Functions: Carbon’s functions are similar to Rust’s, with a focus on simplicity and expressiveness.

var x: i32 = 5;
for (i in 0..10) {
  print(i);
}
fn greet(name: string) {
  print("Hello, " + name);
}

Looking into Carbon’s Future

The Carbon team envisions a future where Carbon is a fast, scalable language that supports performance-critical software running on modern operating systems, hardware, and environments. With its focus on safety, performance, and modern design, Carbon has the potential to become a major player in the world of programming languages.

Learn more about Carbon’s future plans