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

Template functions

One of the hallmarks of the C++ Standard Template Library (STL) is its commitment to type-generic programming. This allows algorithms to be written to operate on multiple data types, effectively sidestepping the restrictions of traditional type-specific functions. C++ achieves this remarkable feat using template functions. Let us explore these template functions.

A primer on function templates

At the heart of type-generic programming lies the function template, an incredible tool that allows developers to write functions without specifying the exact data types they will operate on. Instead of committing to a single type, templates let you define a blueprint, making the function adaptable to various types. Here’s a simple example: imagine writing a function that swaps the values of two variables. With function templates, this swap function can cater to integers, floats, strings, and even custom types!

Variadic templates – multiplicity in templates...