Book Image

Mastering the C++17 STL

By : Arthur O'Dwyer
Book Image

Mastering the C++17 STL

By: Arthur O'Dwyer

Overview of this book

Modern C++ has come a long way since 2011. The latest update, C++17, has just been ratified and several implementations are on the way. This book is your guide to the C++ standard library, including the very latest C++17 features. The book starts by exploring the C++ Standard Template Library in depth. You will learn the key differences between classical polymorphism and generic programming, the foundation of the STL. You will also learn how to use the various algorithms and containers in the STL to suit your programming needs. The next module delves into the tools of modern C++. Here you will learn about algebraic types such as std::optional, vocabulary types such as std::function, smart pointers, and synchronization primitives such as std::atomic and std::mutex. In the final module, you will learn about C++'s support for regular expressions and file I/O. By the end of the book you will be proficient in using the C++17 standard library to implement real programs, and you'll have gained a solid understanding of the library's own internals.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)

The workhorse: std::vector<T>

std::vector represents a contiguous array of data elements, but allocated on the heap instead of on the stack. This improves on std::array in two ways: First, it allows us to create a really gigantic array without blowing our stack. Second, it allows us to resize the underlying array dynamically--unlike std::array<int, 3> where the size of the array is an immutable part of the type, a std::vector<int> has no intrinsic size. A vector's .size() method actually yields useful information about the current state of the vector.

A std::vector has one other salient attribute: its capacity. The capacity of a vector is always at least as large as its size, and represents the number of elements that the vector currently could hold, before it would need to reallocate its underlying array:

Other than its resizeability, vector behaves similarly...