Leonard Tyson wrote in message <6jeb70$m1f@netlab.cs.rpi.edu>...
>Is there any such thing as a purely ANSI C++ compiler?
>What's the point of having a "standard" if no one follows it?


The reason no compiler follows the ANSI standard is that we don't actually
have an ANSI standard yet.  So far, all we have had proposals for the
standard, which some compilers have been trying to comply with.  The problem
is these drafts have changed from time to time, and it takes time for the
compiler vendors to keep changing things to keep up with the latest draft.

The good news is we are real close (withn a few months) to approving a
standard.  Compiler vendors can then follow that standard.  But it will take
a little time for compilers to implement that standard.  It's (arguably) a
lot easier to write a reqirement than it is to implement it.

If you're interested in following the progress of the standard, I recommend
reading the comp.std.c++ newsgroup.


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