Using the C++ Standard Template Libraries

Introduction

Welcome to Using the C++ Standard Template Libraries. This book is a tutorial on the class and function templates that are contained within a subset of the header files that make up the C++ Standard Library. These are generic programming tools that offer vast capability, are easy to use, and make many things simple to implement that would otherwise be difficult. The code they generate is usually more efficient and reliable than you could write yourself.

I'm usually unhappy with explanations of just what things do, without an elaboration of what things are for. It's often difficult to guess the latter from the former. My approach therefore, is not just to explain the functionality of the class and function templates, but as far as ...