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

Filling and generating in STL containers

Populating containers and generating data within them is akin to molding clay into a sculpture. The data structure is your foundation, and the techniques to fill and generate data give life to your programs. As we continue to unearth the vast capabilities of the STL, this segment is dedicated to the pivotal techniques of filling and generating in STL containers. Let’s roll up our sleeves and dive into the art and science of crafting data structures with precision!

Populating with static assignment

Imagine a scenario where you need a container filled with a specific value, be it zeroes, a particular character, or any other repeating pattern. The STL simplifies this with methods tailored for static assignments.

For instance, the std::vector offers an overload of its constructor that allows you to specify a size and a default value:

std::vector<int> v(5, 2112);

Such a method ensures uniformity of data, which is essential...