C++ Gotchas: Avoiding Common Problems in Coding and Design

Preface

This book is the result of nearly two decades of minor frustrations, serious bugs, late nights, and weekends spent involuntarily at the keyboard. This collection consists of 99 of some of the more common, severe, or interesting C++ gotchas, most of which I have (I'm sorry to say) experienced personally.

The term “gotcha” has a cloudy history and a variety of definitions. For purposes of this book, we'll define C++ gotchas as common and preventable problems in C++ programming and design. The gotchas described here run the gamut from minor syntactic annoyances to basic design flaws to full-blown sociopathic behavior.

Almost ten years ago, I started including notes about individual gotchas in my C++ course material. My feeling was that ...