Science Quote by Bjarne Stroustrup

Stroustrup urges the industry to prefer open, vendor-neutral standards because software survives and succeeds when it can move freely across platforms, compilers, and organizations. As the creator of C++, he spent decades inside ISO standardization, learning how shared rules for language features and libraries prevent fragmentation. The history of C++ shows what happens when proprietary extensions or closed libraries dominate: code becomes tied to a single compiler or vendor, builds break when teams switch platforms, and long-term maintenance grows costly. Nonproprietary standards counter that by providing a stable contract that many independent implementations can honor.

Tools and libraries shape daily work as much as the language itself. Standardized ABIs, object formats, and debugging information (think ELF and DWARF), along with agreed-upon behavior for compilers and linkers, make it possible to assemble complex systems from parts built by different teams. On the library side, the C++ standard library and efforts incubated in communities like Boost show how shared interfaces can spread best practices, such as RAII, generic programming, threading, and filesystem access, without locking developers into a single vendor. Multiple conforming implementations create healthy competition on quality and performance while keeping code portable.

Nonproprietary does not mean stagnant. Open standards evolve through rigorous proposals, review, and real-world testing. That process channels innovation into features that interoperate rather than fragment. It also separates openness of specification from openness of source: a specification can be free to implement while vendors still compete on implementations and tooling. The result is resilience. When companies fade, projects merge, or platforms shift, code grounded in common standards keeps working.

The stakes are highest in systems programming, where performance, safety, and longevity matter. From embedded devices to finance to infrastructure, teams need assurances that their tools and libraries will be usable and maintainable for decades. Encouraging nonproprietary standards is a pragmatic way to secure that future, reduce lock-in, and let the best engineering win.