Episode
Why C++ Still Matters in 2026
- Published
- Jul 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 603
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Summary
In this episode of The Programming Languages Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore why C++ remains a critical language in 2026 despite the rise of Rust, Zig, and other modern systems languages. They focus on the specific case of the Bloomberg Terminal, where C++ handles millisecond-latency data feeds that serve half a million financial professionals daily. Lucas breaks down how Bloomberg's proprietary C++ libraries, like the Bloomberg API (BLPAPI), manage 4.5 million market data updates per second across its infrastructure, and why rewriting that code in a memory-safe language would cost an estimated $2 billion and introduce unacceptable latency risk. Luna pushes back on Rust's memory safety guarantees, and Lucas explains C++'s evolution with C++20 and C++23 standards that add safer patterns like contracts and spans. They also touch on the vast existing C++ codebase — over 100 million lines at Google alone — and how the language's performance predictability keeps it entrenched in high-frequency trading, game engines, and embedded systems. The episode concludes with a forward-looking question about whether C++ can maintain relevance as AI and quantum computing demand different abstractions. #CPlusPlus #Rust #SystemsProgramming #BloombergTerminal #HighFrequencyTrading #CPlusPlus20 #CPlusPlus23 #MemorySafety #LegacyCode #PerformanceEngineering #GameEngines #EmbeddedSystems #Technology #SoftwareEngineering #ProgrammingLanguages #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TechPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo