C++ has received support for a new platform: what it means for developers

C++ has received official support for a new platform: what it means for developers

The C++ developer community has received important news: the C++ programming language now officially supports a new computing platform. This event opens up additional opportunities for engineers and companies to create high-performance applications that run in modern heterogeneous environments. We are talking about the full integration of C++ with the RISC-V platform — an open instruction set architecture (ISA) that is rapidly gaining popularity in embedded systems, IoT, and now also in server solutions.

What is RISC-V and why is it important

RISC-V is an open, modular architecture that does not require licensing. Unlike proprietary ARM or x86, RISC-V allows developers to adapt the processor core to their tasks without royalties. The main advantages are:

• Openness and flexibility: no license fees and the ability to modify the architecture for specific projects.
• Modularity: support for extensions (vector computing, security, machine learning) without changing the base instruction set.
• Growing ecosystem: RISC-V is already used in microcontrollers, AI accelerators, and more recently in server processors (e.g., StarFive, SiFive).

What has changed in C++ to support RISC-V

Key changes have been made to the C++ standard library and the GCC/LLVM compiler toolchain. Developers can now:

• Compile C++ code for RISC-V with full support for the C++20/23 standard, including modules, coroutines, and concepts.
• Use atomic operations guaranteed for RISC-V, which is critical for multithreaded applications on new processors.
• Get optimized vector extensions (RVV), allowing efficient execution of machine learning and signal processing tasks in C++ without manual assembly optimization.
• Work with new hardware capabilities: protected memory, extensions for cryptography, and real-time processing.

Practical benefits for developers

The integration of C++ with RISC-V opens up several directions at once:

• Embedded systems and IoT: C++ code can run on energy-efficient RISC-V microcontrollers with minimal overhead.
• High-performance computing (HPC): server RISC-V chips are already demonstrating competitive performance, and C++ remains the primary language for HPC applications.
• Security: support for hardware process isolation (PMP) in C++ allows creating secure systems without using third-party RTOS.

How to start using C++ on RISC-V

For experiments you will need:

1. Install a fresh version of GCC (≥13) or Clang (≥17) with RISC-V support.
2. Download the Spike or QEMU emulator for RISC-V — it allows running C++ code without real hardware.
3. Use standard compilation flags, for example: g++ -march=rv64gc -std=c++23 program.cpp -o program.
4. Test using the official SDK from RISC-V International.

The news about C++ support for RISC-V is not