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Generic Programming and the STL

Generic programming is the key to templates, templates are the key to the Standard Template Library, and the STL is your key to C++ proficiency. Dan Saks kicks off the C++ Track bright and early Monday in his session "Introduction to Templates and Generic Programming in C++ and the STL."

It's hard to claim true proficiency in C++ without a working knowledge of templates, the concept that underlies the Standard Template Library. The SD West 2007 C++ Track kicks off at 8:30 A.M. Monday with "Introduction to Templates and Generic Programming in C++ and the STL," a day-long session by Dan Saks, author of C++ Programming Guidelines.

If you don't already use the STL, you should—It's a remarkable technical achievement, and it will change the way you code for the better. The STL is based on the idea of generic programming, making use of templates to implement general-purpose algorithms and data structures.

You want to reinvent as few wheels as possible—and the STL, with its parameterized types and constants for specifying algorithms and data structures, encapsulates as much common functionality as possible and gives you great type safety, flexibility and efficiency to boot.

In this session, Dan will focus on understanding the library's architecture as a foundation for using the STL, rather than on covering all the library's individual parts. In the process, he will explain the major components of the STL: containers, iterators and algorithms.

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