Read it backwards (as driven by Clockwise/Spiral Rule): int* – pointer to int int const * – pointer to const int int * const – const pointer to int int const * const – const pointer to const int Now the first const can be on either side of the type so: const int * == int const * const int * const == int const … Read more
It declares an rvalue reference (standards proposal doc). Here’s an introduction to rvalue references. Here’s a fantastic in-depth look at rvalue references by one of Microsoft’s standard library developers. CAUTION: the linked article on MSDN (“Rvalue References: C++0x Features in VC10, Part 2”) is a very clear introduction to Rvalue references, but makes statements about Rvalue references that were once … Read more
Read it backwards (as driven by Clockwise/Spiral Rule): int* – pointer to int int const * – pointer to const int int * const – const pointer to int int const * const – const pointer to const int Now the first const can be on either side of the type so: const int * == int const * const int * const == int const … Read more
This question attempts to collect the few pearls among the dozens of bad C++ books that are published every year. Unlike many other programming languages, which are often picked up on the go from tutorials found on the Internet, few are able to quickly pick up C++ without studying a well-written C++ book. It is … Read more
C++ has two kinds of enum: enum classes Plain enums Here are a couple of examples on how to declare them: What is the difference between the two? enum classes – enumerator names are local to the enum and their values do not implicitly convert to other types (like another enum or int) Plain enums … Read more
The compiler is allowed to make one implicit conversion to resolve the parameters to a function. What this means is that the compiler can use constructors callable with a single parameter to convert from one type to another in order to get the right type for a parameter. Here’s an example class with a constructor that can … Read more
The main function must be declared as a non-member function in the global namespace. This means that it cannot be a static or non-static member function of a class, nor can it be placed in a namespace (even the unnamed namespace). The name main is not reserved in C++ except as a function in the … Read more
Beginner Introductory, no previous programming experience C++ Primer * (Stanley Lippman, Josée Lajoie, and Barbara E. Moo) (updated for C++11) Coming at 1k pages, this is a very thorough introduction into C++ that covers just about everything in the language in a very accessible format and in great detail. The fifth edition (released August 16, 2012) … Read more
UPDATE This answer is rather old, and so describes what was ‘good’ at the time, which was smart pointers provided by the Boost library. Since C++11, the standard library has provided sufficient smart pointers types, and so you should favour the use of std::unique_ptr, std::shared_ptr and std::weak_ptr. There was also std::auto_ptr. It was very much … Read more
The compiler is allowed to make one implicit conversion to resolve the parameters to a function. What this means is that the compiler can use constructors callable with a single parameter to convert from one type to another in order to get the right type for a parameter. Here’s an example class with a constructor … Read more