# STL (C++ Standard Template Library)

5 Hacker News commenters recommended STL (C++ Standard Template Library) and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Built-in generic containers and algorithms mean you don't have to write your own, and it ships free with C++ compilers. Critics cite slow compiles, hidden bugs, and a design that feels dated.

## Why people recommend it

- Built-in generic containers and algorithms (2 comments): "having built-in generic containers and algorithms is the part that keeps me favoring C++" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46931825)) "you don't have the time to implement your own STL so you just use the STL" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46045457))

## What people warn about

- Abstraction costs and slow compiles (2 comments): "many generic functions found in the C++ stl have to pay significant abstraction costs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48937730)) "The STL is mostly trash, not worth the increase in compilation times." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48945571))
- Hidden bugs and concurrency issues (3 comments): "Instead it was because of a kind of iterator invalidation that I had not expected" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49181831)) "we have had concurrency bugs and performance problems from using them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49037521)) "where not only is it close to unreadable, many many hidden bugs are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46051838))
- Dated design next to newer languages (2 comments): "Sorry sir, I have a nostalgic fondness for C++, but it just doesn't compare." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48256207)) "Look at C++'s long in the tooth STL." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49377983))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Go standard library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/go-standard-library.md): 34 recommend
- [C++ Standard Library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/c-plus-plus-standard-library.md): 15 recommend
- [Python standard library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/python-standard-library.md): 13 recommend
- [Rust standard library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rust-standard-library.md): 12 recommend
- [Java standard library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/java-standard-library.md): 7 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "STL (C++ Standard Template Library)", https://hackerapproved.com/p/c-plus-plus-stl/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).