The driver is not compatible with C++98, since it does require a C++11 compiler. However, that is not the purpose of the v_noabi
inline namespace. That inline namespace is a placeholder for when we declare that the driver interface is correct and complete, and we decide to declare the driver as
ABI stable, at which point v_noabi will change to v_1. If we were to need to break ABI in the future, we would bump it to v_2, etc. The current name of v_noabi is intended to indicate that while the mechanisms for enforcing ABI are present in the driver, we are not currently doing so - there is no ABI.
Please let me know if I can clarify any of the above.