void main(void)

Calls, Returns and In-Between.

June 2006

Some ideas that have been around for a while need reexamining now and then. Take interprocess communication via shared memory, for example. It's not a new concept—in fact, it's a staple of software engineering. But that doesn't mean it can't be improved. Alexander Dokumentov presents four algorithms for lock-free IPC that don't depend on atomic processor instructions.

Posted by Kevin Carlson at 06:00 AM  Permalink |

Checking your app for performance bottlenecks is always good practice, and sometimes is mission-critical. But using a profiling tool like the Microsoft Visual C++ profiler can be like driving a nail with a sledgehammer. How about a nice, simple tool that lets you analyze your profiling data in Excel? Oguz Kupusoglu comes to the rescue.

Posted by Kevin Carlson at 06:35 AM  Permalink |

Pete Becker has been there for every act of the C++ Standards Committee drama in recent years. While he prefers to witness his Shakespearean sword fighting in the theater, the controversy over what to include in the next C++ Standard can sometimes resemble a heated duel. Thankfully, all's well that ends well, and in this case, that means the inclusion of almost all of TR1 in the Standard. Pete gives a full accounting in his latest column.

Posted by Kevin Carlson at 11:48 AM  Permalink |

Many professions can enjoy the tremendous benefits of standardization. Take plumbers, for instance. It's got to be reassuring to be able to go into a hardware store and buy a 3/8" pipe fitting knowing that it will fit your 3/8" pipe.

Programmers aren't so lucky. Well, occasionally programmers are that lucky. But most of the time, things don't fit together without some pain. Stephen Hutton shows us a good way to handle one of those "plumbing" problems—type conversion—in his article "Supporting Custom C++ Types." To do it, he uses a traits class, which is a class template that contains only typedefs and static functions.

Posted by Kevin Carlson at 12:50 PM  Permalink |