C++ Development Documentation

Welcome to C++ Documentation

This section provides comprehensive documentation for C++ development, covering the language itself, the Standard Template Library (STL), and essential programming guides. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, you'll find the resources you need to build powerful and efficient applications.

Explore the links on the left to navigate through different topics, including language features, standard library components, and best practices for modern C++ development.

C++ Language Features

Delve into the core features of the C++ programming language. Understand how to leverage its power for low-level memory manipulation, object-oriented design, and high-performance computing.

The C++ Standard Template Library (STL)

The STL is a cornerstone of modern C++ programming, providing efficient and reusable components for common programming tasks. Master the STL to write cleaner, more robust, and performant code.

Key STL Components:

  • Containers: Data structures like vector, list, map, set.
  • Algorithms: Generic functions for sorting, searching, transforming data, etc. (e.g., sort, find, transform).
  • Iterators: Objects that provide access to the elements of a container.
  • Functors and Lambda Expressions: Objects or functions that can be called like functions.

STL Containers

Learn about the various container types available in the C++ Standard Library, each optimized for different use cases.

Sequence Containers:

  • std::vector: Dynamic array.
  • std::deque: Double-ended queue.
  • std::list: Doubly linked list.
  • std::forward_list: Singly linked list (C++11).
  • std::array: Fixed-size array (C++11).

Associative Containers:

  • std::set: Sorted unique elements.
  • std::multiset: Sorted non-unique elements.
  • std::map: Sorted key-value pairs (unique keys).
  • std::multimap: Sorted key-value pairs (non-unique keys).

Unordered Associative Containers (C++11):

  • std::unordered_set
  • std::unordered_multiset
  • std::unordered_map
  • std::unordered_multimap

Container Adaptors:

  • std::stack
  • std::queue
  • std::priority_queue

STL Algorithms

The STL algorithms provide a powerful and generic way to operate on ranges of elements. They are designed to work with any container that provides iterators.

Common Algorithm Categories:

  • Non-modifying sequence operations (e.g., count, find, equal).
  • Modifying sequence operations (e.g., copy, remove, reverse).
  • Sorting and partitioning (e.g., sort, stable_sort, partition).
  • Numeric operations (e.g., accumulate, inner_product).
  • Heap operations.

Example: Sorting a vector


#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>

int main() {
    std::vector<int> numbers = {5, 2, 8, 1, 9};
    std::sort(numbers.begin(), numbers.end());

    std::cout << "Sorted numbers: ";
    for (int num : numbers) {
        std::cout << num << " ";
    }
    std::cout << std::endl;

    return 0;
}

Modern C++ Best Practices

Write efficient, safe, and maintainable C++ code by following modern best practices. This section covers guidelines for C++11, C++14, C++17, and C++20.

Key Principles:

✅

Prefer RAII (Resource Acquisition Is Initialization) for resource management, especially using smart pointers like std::unique_ptr and std::shared_ptr.

✅

Use const correctness to indicate that a function or variable does not modify state.

✅

Embrace move semantics to avoid unnecessary copying of large objects.

✅

Leverage range-based for loops for simpler iteration over containers.

✅

Employ lambdas for concise inline function definitions.

✅

Understand and utilize the features of C++20, such as concepts and modules.

API Reference

Detailed reference documentation for the C++ Standard Library components, including headers, functions, classes, and their members. Search for specific types or functions to get in-depth information on their usage, parameters, return values, and complexity.

Browse the full C++ Standard Library API Reference...