C++ “Successor” Language / Syntax

Cilia is similar to

• Cpp2/CppFront,
• Carbon, or
• Circle,

and a bit like the evolution

• from Java to Kotlin,
• from Objective-C to Swift.

Why a new language, why not extending C++?

• The CamelCase style could basically be archieved in C++, too
• C++ could be extended by some features:
  • Aliasing of member names (functions and variables) seems necessary for having a CamelCase standard library, that is realized as a shallow but “perfect” wrapper for the C++ standard library (i.e. a translation layer).
• Some parts are impossible – or at least extremely unlikely – to include in a future C++ standard:
  • Const reference as default type for function parameters
  • Fixing C++ “wrong defaults”
    • Restricting integral promotions and no implicit narrowing conversions, etc.
  • New array declaration (Int[3] array instead of Int array[3], Int[] array instead of vector<Int> array)
  • New/simplified keywords
  • No trailing semicolons

Why “Cilia”?

Starting with “C” is a kind of tradition.
All the most obvious names (like D, C2, C3, Cpp2, Cone) and many others were already taken ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Julia is a nice language, so now Cilia got a “cute” name.