(simplified for a class hierarchy A <- B ):
The C++ runtime is the set of software components that support the execution of a compiled C++ program beyond the raw machine code generated by the compiler. Unlike C, which has a relatively minimal runtime, C++ requires substantial behind‑the‑scenes machinery to implement core language features: dynamic initialization of globals, exception handling, run‑time type information (RTTI), new / delete operators, and stack unwinding. This report dissects the C++ runtime into its constituent parts, traces the execution flow from _start to main and beyond, analyzes the cost of each runtime feature, and examines implementation variations across major compilers (GCC/Clang, MSVC) and operating systems.
(simplified for a class hierarchy A <- B ):
The C++ runtime is the set of software components that support the execution of a compiled C++ program beyond the raw machine code generated by the compiler. Unlike C, which has a relatively minimal runtime, C++ requires substantial behind‑the‑scenes machinery to implement core language features: dynamic initialization of globals, exception handling, run‑time type information (RTTI), new / delete operators, and stack unwinding. This report dissects the C++ runtime into its constituent parts, traces the execution flow from _start to main and beyond, analyzes the cost of each runtime feature, and examines implementation variations across major compilers (GCC/Clang, MSVC) and operating systems. c++ runtime