Ok, so the last time I wrote C++ for a living, std::auto_ptr was all the std lib had available, and boost::shared_ptr was all the rage. I never really looked into the other smart pointer types boost provided. I understand that C++11 now provides some of the types boost came up with, but not all of … Read more
Why is it not allowed to get non-const reference to a temporary object, which function getx() returns? Clearly, this is prohibited by C++ Standard but I am interested in the purpose of such restriction, not a reference to the standard. struct X { X& ref() { return *this; } }; X getx() { return X();} … Read more
As far as I understand, the introduction of override keyword in C++11 is nothing more than a check to make sure that the function being implemented is the overrideing of a virtual function in the base class. Is that it? 6 Answers 6
Came across a proposal called “rvalue reference for *this” in clang’s C++11 status page. I’ve read quite a bit about rvalue references and understood them, but I don’t think I know about this. I also couldn’t find much resources on the web using the terms. There’s a link to the proposal paper on the page: … Read more
While I was trying to learn about C++ operators, I stumbled upon a strange comparison operator on cppreference.com,* in a table that looked like this: “Well, if these are common operators in C++, I better learn them”, I thought. But all my attempts to elucidate this mystery were unsuccessful. Even here, on Stack Overflow I … Read more
What does the volatile keyword do? In C++ what problem does it solve? In my case, I have never knowingly needed it. 19 Answers 19
I am new to C++ programming, but I have experience in Java. I need guidance on how to pass objects to functions in C++. Do I need to pass pointers, references, or non-pointer and non-reference values? I remember in Java there are no such issues since we pass just the variable that holds reference to … Read more
I have a constructor that takes some arguments. I had assumed that they were constructed in the order listed, but in one case it appears they were being constructed in reverse resulting in an abort. When I reversed the arguments the program stopped aborting. This is an example of the syntax I’m using. The thing … Read more
I came across this strange code snippet which compiles fine: class Car { public: int speed; }; int main() { int Car::*pSpeed = &Car::speed; return 0; } Why does C++ have this pointer to a non-static data member of a class? What is the use of this strange pointer in real code? 18 Answers 18
Let’s say I have the following class X where I want to return access to an internal member: class Z { // details }; class X { std::vector<Z> vecZ; public: Z& Z(size_t index) { // massive amounts of code for validating index Z& ret = vecZ[index]; // even more code for determining that the Z … Read more
