Speaker: Richard Kaiser

Audience level: [Beginner | Intermediate]

The Misra Guidelines define a subset of C++ in which the opportunity to make mistakes is removed or reduced.

Originally created to support safety-critical systems in domains such as automotive, aerospace, and medical devices, MISRA has long been a cornerstone of dependable embedded software development.

However, the first MISRA C++ Guidelines (published in 2008 and based on C++03) struggled to keep pace with the evolution of the language. As C++11 and later standards introduced powerful new features, developers often encountered false “non-compliance” warnings, and the rules themselves proved overly restrictive—prohibiting dynamic memory and most use of the standard library.

That’s why the community needed an update—and it has arrived. MISRA C++:2023, published in October 2023, brings the guidelines up to date with C++17, modernizing the rules while maintaining MISRA’s focus on safety and reliability. The new version embraces modern C++ features, allows standard library containers, and significantly reduces unnecessary restrictions.

The result is a modern, pragmatic, and widely applicable style guide—not just for safety-critical embedded systems, but for any organization seeking clean, maintainable, and verifiably correct C++ code. With the support of today’s advanced static analysis tools, achieving MISRA compliance has never been easier.

This talk introduces the key ideas behind MISRA C++:2023 with many examples.