A couple of weeks ago, we discussed a feature planned for the upcoming Update 2 of C++Builder 10.1 Berlin, C++ rename refactoring. This feature allows you to right-click on any identifier in your C++ code, and rename it throughout the project.

Unfortunately, we have had to defer the feature from Update 2. After having shared the potential feature with the community, this is sure to be a disappointment to you, as well as to us. I’d like to share with you why, and also give you some good news about when to expect it.

Very late in testing Update 2, we identified two critical bugs in rename refactoring. Both of these were to do with some complex situations including when the file was in a specific encoding on disk but converted to UTF8 by the editor, or other situations where encodings changed from one encoding to another, and resulted in code corruption: the replacement of an identifier with the new name could occur at the wrong location in code, offset by a few characters.

This left us in a difficult situation: should we delay releasing Update 2 by potentially a couple of weeks, or instead defer the feature?

The bug itself is relatively straightforward, but the matrix of situations in which it can and can not occur, and its effects each time, is complex. We were not confident that a quick fix would reliably address the issue.

Quality is important, and so we chose to ensure that we address the issue robustly and release the feature certain of its quality. That meant we deferred it from Update 2.

Good news

We were only able to do this because licenses are now under update subscription. Update subscription allows us to release features throughout the year, instead of having a single major release followed only by bugfixes. This means any feature that misses one release is a candidate for the next, and all update subscription customers will get the feature. Rename refactoring will be in the next release.

On a side note, as you may know, C++Builder is coming to Linux!  We plan to have a public beta of the C++ support quite soon, to which all update subscription customers will be invited.

David Millington

C++ Product Manager