Book Image

Template Metaprogramming with C++

By : Marius Bancila
5 (1)
Book Image

Template Metaprogramming with C++

5 (1)
By: Marius Bancila

Overview of this book

Learn how the metaprogramming technique enables you to create data structures and functions that allow computation to happen at compile time. With this book, you'll realize how templates help you avoid writing duplicate code and are key to creating generic libraries, such as the standard library or Boost, that can be used in a multitude of programs. The introductory chapters of this book will give you insights into the fundamentals of templates and metaprogramming. You'll then move on to practice writing complex templates and exploring advanced concepts such as template recursion, template argument deduction, forwarding references, type traits, and conditional compilation. Along the way, you'll learn how to write variadic templates and how to provide requirements to the template arguments with C++20 constraints and concepts. Finally, you'll apply your knowledge of C++ metaprogramming templates to implement various metaprogramming patterns and techniques. By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to write effective templates and implement metaprogramming in your everyday programming journey.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
1
Part 1: Core Template Concepts
5
Part 2: Advanced Template Features
9
Part 3: Applied Templates
Appendix: Closing Notes

Understanding range concepts and views

The term range refers to an abstraction that defines a sequence of elements bounded by start and end iterators. A range, therefore, represents an iterable sequence of elements. However, such a sequence can be defined in several ways:

  • With a begin iterator and an end sentinel. Such a sequence is iterated from the beginning to the end. A sentinel is an object that indicates the end of the sequence. It can have the same type as the iterator type or it can be of a different type.
  • With a start object and a size (number of elements), representing a so-called counted sequence. Such a sequence is iterated N times (where N represents the size) from the start.
  • With a start and a predicate, representing a so-called conditionally terminated sequence. Such a sequence is iterated from the start until the predicate returns false.
  • With only a start value, representing a so-called unbounded sequence. Such a sequence can be iterated indefinitely...