Book Image

C++ Fundamentals

By : Antonio Mallia, Francesco Zoffoli
Book Image

C++ Fundamentals

By: Antonio Mallia, Francesco Zoffoli

Overview of this book

C++ Fundamentals begins by introducing you to the C++ compilation model and syntax. You will then study data types, variable declaration, scope, and control flow statements. With the help of this book, you'll be able to compile fully working C++ code and understand how variables, references, and pointers can be used to manipulate the state of the program. Next, you will explore functions and classes — the features that C++ offers to organize a program — and use them to solve more complex problems. You will also understand common pitfalls and modern best practices, especially the ones that diverge from the C++98 guidelines. As you advance through the chapters, you'll study the advantages of generic programming and write your own templates to make generic algorithms that work with any type. This C++ book will guide you in fully exploiting standard containers and algorithms, understanding how to pick the appropriate one for each problem. By the end of this book, you will not only be able to write efficient code but also be equipped to improve the readability, performance, and maintainability of your programs.
Table of Contents (9 chapters)
C++ Fundamentals
Preface

Introduction


In earlier chapters, we learned about templates that are used to create functions and classes that work with arbitrary types. This avoids duplication of work. However, using templates is not applicable in all cases, or may not be the best approach. The limitation of templates is that their types need to be known when the code is compiled.

In real-world cases, this is not always possible. A typical example would be a program that determines what logging infrastructure to use depending on the value of a configuration file.

Consider the following problems:

  • While developing the application and executing tests, the application would use a logger that prints detailed information.

  • On the other hand, when the application is deployed to the PCs of its users, the application would use a logger that prints error summaries and notifies the developers if there are any errors.

We can solve these problems using the concept of inheritance in C++.