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)

Special-purpose mutex types

Recall that std::lock_guard<M> and std::unique_lock<M> are parameterized on the mutex type. So far we've seen only std::mutex. However, the standard library does contain a few other mutex types which can be useful in special circumstances.

std::recursive_mutex is like std::mutex, but remembers which thread has locked it. If that particular thread tries to lock it a second time, the recursive mutex will merely increment an internal reference count of "how many times I've been locked." If some other thread tries to lock the recursive mutex, that thread will block until the original thread has unlocked the mutex the appropriate number of times.

std::timed_mutex is like std::mutex, but is aware of the passage of time. It has as member functions not only the usual .try_lock(), but also .try_lock_for() and .try_lock_until(...