BDE 4.36.0 Release

Schedule

The BDE team announces that the BDE 4.36.0 production release was completed on Monday, March 23, 2026.

BDE 4.36.0 Release Highlights

BALL Record Formatter Plugins: Scheme-Based Log Output Format Selection

BALL observers now support a plugin-based architecture for log record formatting. Format specifications can include a URI-style scheme identifier that selects the formatter type:

text:// – The traditional printf-style text formatter (default when no scheme is specified, fully backward compatible).
json:// – Structured JSON output using JSON array notation for field specifications.
qjson:// – A convenience format that combines JSON output with the familiar printf-style specifiers for the contents.

For more information, see BALL Record Formatter Plugins: Flexible Log Output Formatting.

New Macros: `BSLS_ASSERT_*UNREACHABLE`

New macros BSLS_ASSERT_UNREACHABLE, BSLS_ASSERT_OPT_UNREACHABLE, and BSLS_ASSERT_SAFE_UNREACHABLE have been added to bsls_assert. These macros are intended for use in code paths that should never be reached, providing both documentation of intent and runtime detection of logic errors.

`bdlmt::EventScheduler` Retain Cycle Hazard Fixed

bdlmt::EventScheduler no longer stores a copy of the callback in the event, eliminating a potential retain cycle hazard when a callback captures a shared pointer to the scheduler or to an object that owns the scheduler.

Fixed Tickets

Summary
`bdlmt::EventScheduler` unexpectedly stores callback in event, creating a retain cycle hazard
Implement pluggable log record formatters
Implement `BSLS_ASSERT_*UNREACHABLE`
Fix `bsls_assert` macro usage in `bslfmt_padutil`
Fix logic that enables `BSLS_IDENT`
Conditionally remove redeclarations deprecated in C++17
Fix build issues for C++23 on MacOS
Fix bad spelling of `__cpp` feature macro in `bslstl_function_invokerutil`
Reduce Darwin machine load nightly build failures
Reduce spew from `bslfmt_formatterstring.t.cpp` case 4
Correct for-testing-only includes in `bslmt`, add `TimedCompletionGuard` usage
Reduce execution time of `bslfmt_testspecificationgenerator.t.cpp` on Darwin
Reduce introduced `TimedCompletionGuard` issues on Darwin
Fix typo in `balcl_typeinfo.t.cpp`
Reduce `bsls_atomic.t` cases 7 and 8 runtime on Darwin
Reduce `bsls_atomic.t` cases 7, 8, and 9 runtime on Darwin
Remove remaining use of `bsls_ident` in test drivers
Alphasort `bsls_libraryfeatures` documentation
Audit the `printFlags` report in `bsls_compilerfeatures`
Resolve deprecation warning in `bdldfp_decimal` test driver
Regenerate `bslstl_function_invokerutil_cpp03.t.cpp`