"How often" is indeed a decent question, but the ranges aren't too wide. It'd either be once per C++ release (every couple of years) or in some of the C++ relea

"How often" is indeed a decent question, but the ranges aren't too wide. It'd either be once per C++ release (every couple of years) or in some of the C++ releases (every five years or so). It isn't like if the committee decides it is okay to increase the widest integer type every week. The reasons why the ABI transition hasn't happened already is because C++ has a historical position of breaking the ABI only very very rarely. This is, in part, a legacy from a world where it really was going to be frustratingly difficult to get new builds of their libraries.