Standard library

<h2 id="contents">Contents</h2>
<p>Depending on the constructs available in the core language, a standard library may include:
</p>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Subroutine/9vFJrg0A">Subroutines</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Macro_(computer_science)/7abAsm1o">Macro</a> definitions</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Global_variable/XWF9zC08">Global variables</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Class_(computer_science)/zvzkSAtE">Class</a> definitions</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Template_(C%2B%2B)/TXEqGy7R">Templates</a></li></ul>
<p>Commonly provided functionality includes:
</p>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Algorithm/fnl5NmRt">Algorithms</a>; such as <a href="/facts/Sorting_algorithm/PwHpj1Gs">sorting algorithms</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Data_structure/yNsNvL1I">Data structures</a>; such as <a href="/facts/List_(computing)/9tzhAH6M">list</a>, <a href="/facts/Tree_(data_structure)/RcXz9noF">tree</a>, and <a href="/facts/Hash_table/Ht4ptDPF">hash table</a></li>
<li>Interaction with external systems; input/output</li>
<li>Interaction with the host <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="philosophies">Philosophies</h2>
<p>Philosophies of standard library design vary widely. For example, <a href="/facts/Bjarne_Stroustrup/Be1Yq6rn">Bjarne Stroustrup</a>, designer of <a href="/facts/C%2B%2B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a>, writes:
</p>
<blockquote><p>What ought to be in the standard C++ library? One ideal is for a programmer to be able to find every interesting, significant, and reasonably general class, function, template, etc., in a library. However, the question here is not, "What ought to be in <i>some</i> library?" but "What ought to be in the <i>standard</i> library?" The answer "Everything!" is a reasonable first approximation to an answer to the former question but not the latter. A standard library is something every implementer must supply so that every programmer can rely on it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></p></blockquote>
<p>This suggests a relatively small standard library, containing only the constructs that "every programmer" might reasonably require when building a large collection of software. This is the philosophy that is used in the <a href="/facts/C_(programming_language)/Ky2No763">C</a> and <a href="/facts/C%2B%2B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a> standard libraries.
</p><p>By contrast, <a href="/facts/Guido_van_Rossum/xADcJVjl">Guido van Rossum</a>, designer of <a href="/facts/Python_(programming_language)/YbuGqofa">Python</a>, has embraced a much more inclusive vision of the standard library. Python attempts to offer an easy-to-code, object-oriented, high-level language. In the Python tutorial, he writes:
</p>
<blockquote><p>Python has a "batteries included" philosophy. This is best seen through the sophisticated and robust capabilities of its larger packages.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></p></blockquote>
<p>Van Rossum goes on to list libraries for processing <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>, <a href="/facts/XML-RPC/UleaeVRo">XML-RPC</a>, <a href="/facts/Email/6pD9GLtI">email messages</a>, and localization, facilities that the C++ standard library omits. This other philosophy is often found in <a href="/facts/Scripting_language/8pF4ajBL">scripting languages</a> (as in <a href="/facts/Python_(programming_language)/YbuGqofa">Python</a> or <a href="/facts/Ruby_(programming_language)/BeYSaPSR">Ruby</a>) or languages that use a <a href="/facts/Virtual_machine/BLevU3sx">virtual machine</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Java_(programming_language)/9ScgFyAL">Java</a> or the <a href="/facts/.NET_Framework/J6QDAUhP">.NET Framework</a> languages. In C++, such facilities are not part of the standard library, but instead are included in other libraries, such as <a href="/facts/Boost_(C%2B%2B_libraries)/vGLGG51A">Boost</a>.
</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/C_standard_library/qdG1nW2c">C standard library</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/C%2B%2B_standard_library/A5vQNSAD">C++ standard library</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/.NET_Framework/J6QDAUhP">.NET</a> <a href="/facts/Framework_Class_Library/DtSqC9YS">Framework Class Library</a> (FCL)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Java_Class_Library/ntRSwVde">Java Class Library</a> (JCL)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Factor_(programming_language)/oSKmJ26c">Factor</a> <a href="http://docs.factorcode.org/content/article-handbook-library-reference.html">standard library</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ruby_(programming_language)/BeYSaPSR">Ruby</a> <a href="http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib-2.0.0/">standard library</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Python_(programming_language)/YbuGqofa">Python</a> <a href="https://docs.python.org/3/library/">standard library</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Common_Language_Infrastructure/mu44u01J">Common Language Infrastructure</a> (CLI) <a href="/facts/Standard_Libraries_(CLI)/sbGvv2nB">standard libraries</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Bjarne Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language. 3rd Ed. Addison-Wesley, 1997 <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Guido van Rossum. [1]. <a href="https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/stdlib.html#batteries-included" target="_blank">https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/stdlib.html#batteries-included</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Standard library open-in-new

Standard library