libstdc++ remains as much a part of core as it ever was.

But if nothing links with it, so there are no executables using it, that would seem to reduce the attack surface.

The attack surface of "there is groff in /usr/bin" was never very substantial.

Get root to run "man foo" with the right manpath...

I see. So does this purge only consist of compiled executables then, with the standard C++ headers and libstdc++ still getting a pass?

I think it's rather sad that HN has mostly ignored the meat of this story, and is instead focusing on a not entirely true one line throwaway.

Sad, but understandable. "OpenBSD writes their own ROFF interpreter" isn't very interesting, but "OpenBSD purges C++ from core" appeals to developers' strong emotional responses toward C++.

Yes. And it's not so much a C++ purge as it is a "unmaintainable GPL-licensed slow software" purge, as far as I understand. C++ does hurt comprehension, but it's not the main complaint.

Wait... so then libstdc++ isn't written in C++? Or is "core" different from "base"?

Option 3: core/base is not actually free of C++.