GCC 16.1 Released
GCC 16.1 is released with GNU C++20 as default, experimental C++26 features, enhanced C23 support, and an Algol68 frontend.
Richard Biener announces the release of GCC 16.1, which includes several major changes. The C++ frontend now defaults to GNU C++20, with experimental support for C++26 features like Reflection and Contracts. C23 _BitInt support has expanded, and the Fortran coarray implementation now supports shared memory multithreading. The release also introduces an experimental Algol68 frontend and improved diagnostic output, and enhanced LTO capabilities.
In Details
GCC 16.1 is a major release, updating the default C++ dialect to C++20 and adding experimental support for C++26 features. The compiler now includes an Algol68 frontend (ga68). Link-Time Optimization (LTO) and vectorization have also been improved.
For Context
GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) is a suite of programming language compilers. This announcement details the release of GCC version 16.1, a new version with updated features, language standards, and optimizations. Key changes include updates to C++ support, improvements to link-time optimization (a technique to improve performance), and the addition of a new language frontend (the part of the compiler that parses source code).