Timeline
1990 - ARM: Exceptions (experimental)
1995Q1 CD1: Exceptions in language but...
1996Q4 CD2: …library not exception safe
1997ish - Many exception-safety articles
1998 - ISO Standard - “Exceptions safe”
Notes:
It has taken a long time for exceptions to be integrated into the C++ language.
They were described as an “experimental” feature in the ARM and had been adopted into the language definition by early 1995 when “Committee Draft 1 was circulated for comment.
However, nearly two years later when CD2 was circulated the library description didn’t address exception safety.
Following the publication of CD2 it was apparent that exception safety needed to be addressed and a number of articles were published on this theme. (There are references later.)
When the ISO C++ standard was finally published clauses were in place guaranteeing the behaviour of the library in the face of exceptions.