Returning back to the two versions of the maximum function, the routine is the same for both; all that has changed is the type. If you had a generic type, let's call it T, where T could be any type that implements an operator>, the routine could be described by this pseudocode:
T maximum(T lhs, T rhs) { return (lhs > rhs) ? lhs : rhs; }
This will not compile because we have not defined the type T. Templates allow you to tell the compiler that the code uses a type and will be determined from the parameter passed to the function. The following code will compile:
template<typename T> T maximum(T lhs, T rhs) { return (lhs > rhs) ? lhs : rhs; }
The template declaration specifies the type that will be used using the ...
