Year: 2023

In this article we’re going to continue the theme of a class-designer’s toolkit, looking at adding generics (template functionality) to C++ classes. Templates have been around since C++98, and almost all C++ programmers will have used them: std::vector<int> has the type int as a parameter, itself being a specialization of a generic class. Any user-defined type can be used as a type parameter, having equal status to the built-in types.

Generic classes

Classes which are preceded by a the template keyword are automatically turned into generic classes. These classes can have any number of template parameters, we’re going to concentrate on classes having just one, this being a template type parameter. The class definition starts of as follows:

Continue reading “Generic classes in Modern C++” →

C++ has promoted class design throughout its history, and Modern C++ continues this tradition. Some new syntax has been added, while other syntax is used less often, or has been deprecated. This article aims to summarize best practice using the latest versions of the language in one place, preferring to outline the modern variants (only) without reference to historical style.

Continue reading “A Modern C++ class designer’s toolkit” →