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

Sequence Containers


Sequence containers, sometimes referred to as sequential containers, are a particular class of containers where the order in which their elements are stored is decided by the programmer rather than by the values of the elements. Every element has a certain position that is independent of its value.

The STL contains five sequence container classes:

Figure 5.1: Table presenting the sequence container classes and their descriptions

Array

The array container is a fixed-size data structure of contiguous elements. It recalls the static array that we saw in Chapter 1, Getting Started:

Figure 5.2: Array elements are stored in contiguous memory

An array's size needs to be specified at compile time. Once defined, the size of the array cannot be changed.

When an array is created, the size elements it contains are initialized next to each other in memory. While elements cannot be added or removed, their values can be modified.

Arrays can be randomly accessed using the access operator with...