C++/sys
A Standard Library Projection to Facilitate the Verification of Run-time Memory Safety
What if pointers were simply not allowed to dangle? What if accessing data via operator[], -> and * implicitly pinned and locked the lifetime of that memory for the duration of the access?
C++/sys explores this idea by enforcing lifetime pinning and access constraints that eliminate entire classes of memory errors. While this restricts some designs, it significantly tightens correctness guarantees. In debug builds, these rules make invalid access difficult or impossible; in release builds, the mechanisms can be entirely stripped away to recover the full performance of unchecked C++.
This talk examines whether these ideas can be applied broadly to projects and whether tightening C++'s memory model through stronger access semantics is a practical trade-off, including what we gain and what we lose by doing so.
Karsten Pedersen
I am a Software Engineer with 20 years of experience designing and delivering high-integrity C and C++ software. I have worked across safety-critical systems, defence and medical simulation, real-time networking and commercial games for the LEGO franchise. My PhD research explored high performance streaming of distributed graphics and memory safety. I enjoy building systems that last and sharing practical lessons learned from real-world software development.