Modern C++ Design
Modern C++ Design by Andrei Alexandrescuby Andrei Alexandrescu
Shares rank 13 of 115 programming books by recommenders
Readers credit it with teaching them to think about C++ design, especially policy classes; critics say its template-heavy techniques are hard to use and slow compiles.
Readers credit it with teaching them to think about C++ design, especially policy classes; critics say its template-heavy techniques are hard to use and slow compiles.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Changed how they think about design
“His book on modern C++ design was a mind opener at the time I read it.”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today” “he taught me how to think”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today” Praised as one of the best
“probably the programming book I've gotten the most out of in my career”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today” “the book is definitively one of the best”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: How to Learn C++ in 2026?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Template-heavy code slows compiles
“It also caused developers to produce template-heavy code that took minutes to compile.”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today” “Cute template tricks to make you feel smart and increase compile time”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today”
Other programming books people recommend
The four most recommended other programming books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafting Interpretersby Robert Nystrom | 60 | 4 | 94% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Clean Codeby Robert C. Martin | 31 | 87 | 26% | 9 | — | — |
| The Pragmatic Programmerby Hunt and Thomas | 28 | 1 | 97% | 7 | — | Approved |
| How to Design Programsby Felleisen, Findler, Flatt and Krishnamurthi | 18 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Modern C++ Designby Andrei AlexandrescuThis page | 9 | 2 | 82% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Cute template tricks to make you feel smart and increase compile time”
“It also caused developers to produce template-heavy code that took minutes to compile.”
“Great books, truly, and they helped cement the notion that I wanted to move on to a different language.”
“not much of the stuff is usable IRL”
“probably the programming book I've gotten the most out of in my career”
“I liked a few of the chapters especially how policy classes fix some issues with OO design.”
“he taught me how to think”
“His book on modern C++ design was a mind opener at the time I read it.”
“the book is definitively one of the best”
“It’s like a piece of modern art but completely not self aware.”
“are a joy to read, especially, Modern C++ design”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.