Urgent upgrades every serious C++ developer should already be using
This hit me during a “simple” refactor that turned ugly fast
A few months ago, I opened an old C++ codebase I’d written early in my career.
At first, I felt proud.
Then confused.
Then slightly embarrassed.
Manual memory handling everywhere.
Custom thread pools.
Homegrown logging.
A build system that looked like it had survived three wars.
It worked sure.
But it fought me at every step.
That’s when it clicked: I wasn’t writing bad C++ back then. I was writing lonely C++.
Modern C++ isn’t about flexing syntax.
It’s about outsourcing pain to libraries that already solved it better than you ever will.
These are the upgrades I now consider non-negotiable.
1. spdlog — Logging That Doesn’t Become a Performance Bug
If your logging system allocates on hot paths, you already lost.
#include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
spdlog::info("Server started on port {}", port);
spdlog::warn("Retry count exceeded for job {}", job_id);Why this is a must:
- Async logging out of the box
- Zero-cost formatting when disabled
- Structured logs without hacks
Once logging stopped slowing things down, I logged everything important.
And debugging stopped being guesswork.
Bold take:
If you avoid logging because it’s “too expensive,” your tooling is the problem not your instincts.
2. range-v3 — Algorithms That Read Like Intent, Not Math Homework
STL algorithms are powerful.
They’re also unreadable when chained.
#include <range/v3/all.hpp>
auto evens = numbers
| ranges::views::filter([](int x){ return x % 2 == 0; })
| ranges::views::transform([](int x){ return x * x; });What changed for me:
- Fewer temporary containers
- Clear data flow
- Code reviews stopped arguing about iterator correctness
This isn’t syntactic sugar.
This is making the compiler enforce your intent.
3. cereal — Serialization Without Manual Mapping Hell
I used to hand-write serialization code.
Never again.
#include <cereal/archives/json.hpp>
struct Config {
int threads;
bool debug;
template<class Archive>
void serialize(Archive& ar) {
ar(threads, debug);
}
};Why this is automation gold:
- One definition
- Multiple formats (JSON, binary, XML)
- Backward compatibility support
Data evolves.
Manual serializers rot.
Automate it or babysit it forever.
4. cpp-taskflow — Parallelism Without Thread Soup
Raw threads don’t scale.
They multiply complexity.
tf::Executor executor;
tf::Taskflow taskflow;
auto A = taskflow.emplace([]{ workA(); });
auto B = taskflow.emplace([]{ workB(); });
A.precede(B);
executor.run(taskflow).wait();Why this saved my sanity:
- Task graphs, not threads
- Deterministic dependencies
- Work stealing done right
Concurrency should be declarative.
If you’re managing mutexes manually everywhere, you’re already behind.
5. cmake-presets — Build Automation That Teams Can Actually Share
CMake wasn’t the problem.
Human configuration was.
{
"version": 3,
"configurePresets": [
{
"name": "release",
"generator": "Ninja",
"cacheVariables": {
"CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Release"
}
}
]
}What this fixed instantly:
- No more “how do I build this?”
- Identical builds across machines
- CI configs stopped drifting
If your build instructions live in Slack messages, you’re doing it wrong.
6. libassert — Assertions That Tell You What Actually Happened
assert(x != nullptr);
Cool.
Useless.
ASSERT(ptr != nullptr, ptr, state, index);Now when it fails, you get context.
Real values.
Immediate insight.
Assertions aren’t for proving correctness.
They’re for speed-running debugging.
7. include-what-you-use — Compile-Time Debt Collector
Long builds are just technical debt with interest.
iwyu_tool.py -p build compile_commands.jsonWhy this matters more than people admit:
- Faster builds
- Cleaner headers
- Fewer accidental dependencies
Automation isn’t just runtime.
Build time is part of developer experience and bad DX kills projects quietly.
The Throughline Most C++ Devs Miss
Every tool here does the same thing:
It removes human judgment from repetitive decisions.
- How do I log?
- How do I serialize?
- How do I parallelize?
- How do I structure builds?
Once those are automated, your brain is free for architecture the only place it actually belongs.
Here’s a rule I stand by now:
If a problem can be solved by discipline, it will eventually fail.
If it can be solved by tooling, it scales.
Final Words
C++ didn’t get harder.
Projects did.
If you’re still writing raw C++ like it’s 2008, you’re not being “low-level.”
You’re being inefficient.
Upgrade your stack.
Automate the boring pain.
Save your talent for the problems that deserve it.
Writer : Mahad Nadeem
— Bhuwan Chettri
Editor, CodeToDeploy
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