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GSL Alternatives
Similar projects and alternatives to GSL
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CppCoreGuidelines
The C++ Core Guidelines are a set of tried-and-true guidelines, rules, and best practices about coding in C++
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InfluxDB
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ihp
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C++ Middleware Writer
The repo contains library code to support messaging and serialization. There are also two programs in the repo that are needed to use the CMW.
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span-lite
span lite - A C++20-like span for C++98, C++11 and later in a single-file header-only library
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cpp-core-guidelines-cheatsheet
Cheatsheet for the C++ core guidelines, including a set of tried-and-true guidelines, rules, and best practices about coding in C++.
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C-Golang-like-Defer
Discontinued Cursed defer() method in C++ achieves similar results as Go's defer keyword.
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optional
C++11/14/17 std::optional with functional-style extensions and reference support (by TartanLlama)
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adictgen
Discontinued adictgen is a tool utilizing C++ to create a dictionary for use in the common dictionary attack.
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NOTE:
The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives.
Hence, a higher number means a better GSL alternative or higher similarity.
GSL discussion
GSL reviews and mentions
Posts with mentions or reviews of GSL.
We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives
and similar projects. The last one was on 2025-02-05.
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21st Century C++
I haven't read much from Bjarne but this is refreshingly self-aware and paints a hopeful path to standardize around "the good parts" of C++.
As a C++ newbie I just don't understand the recommended path I'm supposed to follow, though. It seems to be a mix of "a book of guidelines" and "a package that shows you how you should be using those guidelines via implementation of their principles".
After some digging it looks like the guidebook is the "C++ Core Guidelines":
https://isocpp.github.io/CppCoreGuidelines/CppCoreGuidelines
And that I should read it and then:
> use parts of the standard library and add a tiny library to make use of the guidelines convenient and efficient (the Guidelines Support Library, GSL).
Which seems to be this (at least Microsoft's implementation):
https://github.com/microsoft/GSL
And I'm left wondering, is this just how C++ is? Can't the language provide tooling for me to better adhere to its guidelines, bake in "blessed" features and deprecate what Bjarne calls, "the use of low-level, inefficient, and error-prone features"?
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60 terrible tips for a C++ developer
Already showed you how to use ranges and such above, gsl::final_action is here
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Backward compatible implementations of newer standards constructs?
For span I would recommend the guideline support library - gsl::span
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Hey Rustaceans! Got a question? Ask here (20/2023)!
Not sure how things are at this point so you might want to look up with those keywords, but a few years back clang-tidy was one of the suggested tools, or enabling the core guidelines checker in visual studio if you're using that. Maybe using GSL or something similar as well.
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Hardening C++ with Bjarne Stroustrup
When I want safety guarantees, I use the original and run-time checked gsl::span, rather than std::span. https://github.com/microsoft/GSL .
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I love building a startup in Rust. I wouldn't pick it again.
Another solution: use std::span (or some alternative implementations if the codebase doesn't use C++20).
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C++23 “Pandemic Edition” is complete
If you ask me, the GSL [1] alone is a fairly radical departure from C++ that delivers a lot of safety. I don't know if it's gotten much popularity, though. Probably because it introduces a similar disruption like you might find from a brand new programming language.
[1] https://github.com/microsoft/GSL
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Using Rust at a startup: A cautionary tale
> With Rust, though, one needs to learn entirely new ideas — things like lifetimes, ownership, and the borrow checker. These are not familiar concepts to most people working in other common languages ... Some of those “new” ideas are, of course, present in other languages — especially functional ones.
With C++, lifetime and ownership are just about as important but unfortunately no one's got your back. You can ignore lifetimes and ownership but you do so at your own peril. And the compiler won't tell you you're doing it wrong because the language wasn't designed for it to do so.
If you want a taste of rust's "mindset" (with respect to limitations imposed by some types) without jumping ship to a new language, try C++'s Guidelines Support Library [1]. It introduces some of the same benefits/friction as switching to rust but without a new language. Opting-in to some of these guidelines might be a gentler way to get some of the benefits of Rust. But it comes with a similarly higher bar.
[1] https://github.com/microsoft/GSL
- Passing a std:: array as a function parameter
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I created a memory leak using smart pointers
It's also far more verbose than T* or T& (probably intentionally). If you really want a non-nullable pointer, gsl::not_null from the GSL is a good option. Writing your own version is also trivial, if you don't want to add a dependency.
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Stats
Basic GSL repo stats
23
6,412
7.4
3 days ago
microsoft/GSL is an open source project licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 or later which is an OSI approved license.
The primary programming language of GSL is C++.
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