Chapter 15. Namespaces

FAQ 15.01 What is the purpose of this chapter?

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This chapter covers the basic material on namespaces.

The purpose of namespaces is to reduce the number of name clashes that occur with multiple, independently developed libraries. In the early days of C++, this was not as big a problem because there weren't as many C++ libraries as there are today. This situation changed about the time that the standard template library was formalized, and today the large number of class libraries and frameworks on the market accentuates the need for a mechanism to resolve name conflicts.

The original goal for namespaces was to have an ...

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