Book Image

Data Structures and Algorithms with the C++ STL

By : John Farrier
5 (2)
Book Image

Data Structures and Algorithms with the C++ STL

5 (2)
By: John Farrier

Overview of this book

While the Standard Template Library (STL) offers a rich set of tools for data structures and algorithms, navigating its intricacies can be daunting for intermediate C++ developers without expert guidance. This book offers a thorough exploration of the STL’s components, covering fundamental data structures, advanced algorithms, and concurrency features. Starting with an in-depth analysis of the std::vector, this book highlights its pivotal role in the STL, progressing toward building your proficiency in utilizing vectors, managing memory, and leveraging iterators. The book then advances to STL’s data structures, including sequence containers, associative containers, and unordered containers, simplifying the concepts of container adaptors and views to enhance your knowledge of modern STL programming. Shifting the focus to STL algorithms, you’ll get to grips with sorting, searching, and transformations and develop the skills to implement and modify algorithms with best practices. Advanced sections cover extending the STL with custom types and algorithms, as well as concurrency features, exception safety, and parallel algorithms. By the end of this book, you’ll have transformed into a proficient STL practitioner ready to tackle real-world challenges and build efficient and scalable C++ applications.
Table of Contents (30 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1: Mastering std::vector
7
Part 2: Understanding STL Data Structures
13
Part 3: Mastering STL Algorithms
19
Part 4: Creating STL-Compatible Types and Algorithms
23
Part 5: STL Data Structures and Algorithms: Under the Hood

Copying and moving in STL containers

The STL in C++ is known for its robust data structures and algorithms. Among its most fundamental aspects are the operations of copying and moving containers. These operations are not only crucial for data manipulation but also play a significant role in the efficiency and performance of C++ applications. This section explores the nuances of copying and moving within the STL, exploring their semantics, implications on performance, and the strategic decision-making involved in choosing one over the other.

Copying semantics in the STL

Copying, in the most rudimentary sense, refers to creating a replica of an object. In the STL, when you copy a container, you duplicate its contents into a new one. One way to visualize this is to imagine photocopying a document. The original remains unchanged, and you have a new document with the same content.

For instance, consider the following:

std::vector<int> original{1, 2, 3};
std::vector&lt...