WG21

WG21 is the official designation for the ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21 committee, which is responsible for the standardization of the C++ programming language. This working group operates under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), specifically within the Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC1) on Information Technology, Subcommittee 22 (SC22) on Programming Languages.

The primary objective of WG21 is to develop and maintain the international standard for the C++ language, commonly referred to as the ISO C++ standard. This involves a rigorous process of proposal, discussion, refinement, and voting among its members, who represent national bodies and observer organizations. The committee meets regularly to address proposals for new features, changes to existing ones, and clarifications to the language and its standard library.

The output of WG21 is the ISO C++ standard document itself, which is periodically updated with new revisions. These revisions, such as C++11, C++14, C++17, C++20, and the upcoming C++23, introduce significant new capabilities and improvements to the language. The work of WG21 ensures that C++ remains a powerful, versatile, and widely applicable programming language across various domains, from systems programming to high-performance computing and application development. Membership and participation in WG21 are open to qualified individuals and organizations interested in contributing to the evolution of C++.