Herb Sutter Style Guide⁠‍⁠​‌​‌​​‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​​‌‌​​​‌‍​‌​​‌‌​​‍​​​​​​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​​​​‍‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​​​‌​​‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‌​​​​‍​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​‌‌​‌​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍​​‌​‌​​​‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‍‌‌​​​‌​‌‍​​‌​‌‌​​‍‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‍​‌‌‌​‌​‌‍​​​​‌​‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌​‌⁠‍⁠

Overview

Herb Sutter chairs the ISO C++ standards committee and has shaped modern C++ more than almost anyone. His "Exceptional C++" series and "GotW" (Guru of the Week) columns defined how we think about exception safety, const correctness, and defensive C++.

Core Philosophy

"Don't optimize prematurely. Don't pessimize prematurely."

"Write for clarity and correctness first. Optimize measured bottlenecks."

Sutter believes in defensive programming: code that handles errors gracefully, maintains invariants, and fails safely when the unexpected happens.

Design Principles

1. Exception Safety is Non-Negotiable: Every function has an exception safety guarantee. Know which one yours provides.

2. Const Correctness: const isn't decoration—it's documentation and enforcement of intent.