SummaryWhat Every Professional C++ Programmer Needs to Know, Pared to the Bone and Carefully Explained for Quick and Accurate Mastery
C++ is a large and complex language, and learning it is never entirely easy. But some concepts and techniques must be thoroughly mastered if programmers are ever to do professional-quality work. This book, as its title suggests, cuts through the technical details to reveal what is commonly understood to be absolutely essential. In one slim volume, Steve Dewhurst distills what he and other experienced managers, trainers, and authors have found to be the most critical knowledge required for successful C++ programming. It doesn't matter where or when you first learned C++...before you take another step, make sure, with this book as your guide, that you've got it right!
This book is for you if
You're no 'dummy,' and you need to get quickly up to speed in intermediate to advanced C++
You've had some experience in C++ programming, but reading intermediate and advanced C++ books is slow-going
You've had an introductory C++ course, but you've found that you still can't follow your colleagues when they're describing their C++ designs and code
You're an experienced C or Java programmer, but you don't yet have the experience to develop nuanced C++ code and designs
You're a C++ expert, and you're looking for an alternative to answering the same questions from your less-experienced colleagues over and over again
C++ Common Knowledge covers essential but commonly misunderstood topics in C++ programming and design while filtering out needless complexity in the discussion of each topic. What remains is a clear distillation of the essentials required for production C++ programming, presented in the author's trademark incisive, engaging style.
Author Bio
Stephen C. Dewhurst was among the first users of C++ at Bell Labs. He has more than twenty years of experience applying C++ to problem areas such as compiler design, derivative securities trading, e-commerce, and embedded telecommunications. He has authored and coauthored several books on C++. In addition, Steve is a member of the advisory board for The C++ Source, a contributing editor for C/C++ Users Journal, and a former columnist for C++ Report. He is also the author of two C++ compilers and numerous articles on compiler design and C++ programming techniques.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
1. Data Abstraction.
2. Polymorphism.
3. Design Patterns.
4. The Standard Template Library.
5. References are Aliases, not Pointers.
6. Array Formal Arguments.
7. Const Pointers and Pointers to Const.
8. Pointers to Pointers.
9. New Cast Operators.
10. Meaning of a Const Member Function.
11. The Compiler Puts Stuff in Classes.
12. Assignment and Initialization are Different.
13. Copy Operations.
14. Function Pointers.
15. Pointers to Class Members Are Not Pointers.
16. Pointers to Member Functions Are Not Pointers.
17. Dealing with Function and Array Declarators.
18. Function Objects.
19. Commands and Hollywood.
20. STL Function Objects.
21. Overloading and Overriding are Different.
22. Template Method.
23. Namespaces.
24. Member Function Lookup.
25. Argument Dependent Lookup.
26. Operator Function Lookup.
27. Capability Queries.
28. Meaning of Pointer Comparison.
29. Virtual Constructors and Prototype.
30. Factory Method.
31. Covariant Return Types.
32. Preventing Copying.
33. Manufacturing Abstract Bases.
34. Restricting Heap Allocation.
35. Placement New.
36. Class Specific Memory Management.
37. Array Allocation.
38. Exception Safety Axioms.
39. Exception Safe Functions.
40. RAII.
41. New, Constructors, and Exceptions.
42. Smart Pointers.
43. auto--ptr is Unusual.
44. Pointer Arithmetic.
45. Template Terminology.
46. Class Template Explicit Specialization.
47. Template Partial Specialization.
48. Class Template Member Specialization.
49. Disambiguating with Typename.
50. Member Templates.
51. Disambiguating with Template.
52. Specializing for Type Information.
53. Embedded Type Information.
54. Traits.
55. Template Template Parameters.
56. Policies.
57. Template Argument Deduction.
58. Overloading Function Templates.
59. SFINAE.
60. Generic Algorithms.
61. You Instantiate What You Use.
62. Include Guards.
63. Optional Keywords.
Bibliography.
Index.
