Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 005.133 EAN: 9780201749625 ISBN: 0201749629 Label: Addison-Wesley Professional Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: June 16, 2001 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional Sales Rank: 60106 Studio: Addison-Wesley Professional
Amazon.comWritten for the intermediate or advanced C++ programmer, renowned C++ expert Scott Meyers provides essential techniques for getting more out of the Standard Template Library in Effective STL, a tutorial for doing more with this powerful library.
STL is a hugely powerful feature of today's C++, but one with a well-earned reputation for complexity. The book is organized into 50 tips that explore different areas of the STL. Besides providing a list of dos and don'ts, Meyers presents a lot of background on what works and what doesn't with STL. Each tip is demonstrated with in-depth coding samples, many of which make use of two-color printing to highlight the most important lines of code. (Advanced developers will enjoy Meyers's in-depth explanations, while those who are in a hurry can skip ahead to the recommended tip itself.)
A good part of this book involves using containers, like vectors and maps, which are built into STL. (Besides the standard built-in containers, the author also highlights recent additions to STL like B-trees, which are available as extensions from other vendors.) You'll learn the best ways to allocate, add, change, and delete items inside containers, including associative containers like maps. You'll also learn to avoid common pitfalls, which can result in writing code that is slow or just plain wrong.
Other areas covered in Effective STL cover getting the most out of the 100-plus STL algorithms that are bundled with this library. Meyers shows you how to choose the correct algorithm for sorting and other functions. (Even advanced developers will learn something here.) Sections on using function objects (called functors) round out the text. Meyers shows you when these classes make sense and the best ways to implement them. Besides specific tips, you'll get plenty of general programming advice. A useful appendix shows the limitations of STL as implemented in Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and how to overcome them.
Overall, Effective STL is a really invaluable source of programming expertise on an essential aspect of today's C++ for anyone who is using--or planning to use--STL in real production code. It is quite simply a must-have. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered:
Introduction to advanced Standard Template Library (STL) programming techniques
50 tips and best practices for STL illustrated with sample tutorial code
Choosing containers
Efficient copying of elements inside containers
Removing, erasing, and cleaning up items from containers
Using custom allocators with STL containers
Thread safety with STL
Tips for programming with the STL vector and string classes (including reserving memory and calling legacy C/C++ code)
Tips for associative containers (including comparing items, sorted vectors, and non-standard enhancements to STL)
Tips for selecting and using STL iterator classes
STL algorithms (including sorting, removing, and comparing items)
Using functors with STL
General tips for STL programming (including advice for choosing algorithms and understanding compiler diagnostic messages)
String locales
Overcoming STL imitations in Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Deserves five stars
I would suggest this book anyone dealing with STL. It provides extensive best practice input for the experienced C++/STL developer.
Rating: - STL Tutorial
What a great book! Helped me get past mental blocks on using the STL.
Rating: - does for the STL what Effective C++ did for the rest of C++
The man Meyers has worked his magic on the STL. If you've read Effective C++, then you know what to expect, and should invest accordingly. Meyers is on top of his game, finding the right balance of sage advice and dry wit as he guides you through the complexities of the STL. If you haven't read Effective C++, you really ought to before reading this one.
A wide range of advice is dispensed, including: advice on what containers to use, range member functions, avoiding loops, erase-remove, ... Read More
Rating: - a very good book
I really enjoyed to read this book as it contains very good tips. The only detail that annoys me a little bit is the amount of cross references between the items. The author first 2 books were a little bit like that but it seems to me that this one is too much. I would have prefered to have items more self contained. If you want to refer to a particular item, this one will refer to 2 other items that will refer to some more items and so on to the point where if you would like to close the open loop, ... Read More
Rating: - Great resource - must have
I tought I knew STL but Dr. Meyers showed me how little I knew. His in-depth analysis and numerous examples gives new insight into STL and how to best implement solutions using it. This is a must-have for every C++ programmer/software engineer.
- Deserves five stars
- a very good book
